


Idioms and Idiots

by cyberflamingo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Football | Soccer, M/M, Mutual Pining, Naruto was born shucking corn, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sasuke was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Soccer Team Rivalry, Underage Drinking, Unresolved Sexual Tension, countrybumpkin!Naruto, richboy!Sasuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:27:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26625157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyberflamingo/pseuds/cyberflamingo
Summary: The transfer student is a country hick—which is just a nice way of saying he doesn’t belong in the private boarding school where Sasuke has calculated his life’s trajectory. It’s fine if the idiot steals all his friends, it's absolutely bearable if he’s forced to partner up with him in gym class, and it's definitelynot a problem at allthat his dorm room is right next door.But joining the soccer team where Sasuke is team captain? That’s where he draws the line.And if Naruto could stop calling him a pussy, that would begreat.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 270
Kudos: 534





	1. He Who Laughs Last Gets Punched in the Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a majority of the world calls it football but I'm a degenerate from the U. S. of A. so I'm calling it soccer in the fic I'm sorry plz forgib orz

Sasuke’s world was pay to play. Those rules suited him just fine, so long as his parent’s money wasn’t involved, which really meant his brother was footing the bill for his stupidly expensive boarding school. It was fine—Itachi had more money than he knew what to do with anyways.

People who thought they knew Sasuke always said certain things about him. Like, he seemed smarter than most, that he had always been a quick-witted child, that he was sure to follow in his brother’s successful footsteps. But those were all petty, surface level words meant to flatter, and didn’t hold any water. People who commented like that didn’t truly _know_ Sasuke. If they had, they would have used the term “methodical“, because Sasuke had his entire school career planned out from the day he set foot on campus. It was simple: be the best in all his classes, build his future network by “befriending” his classmates, and most importantly, bring Konoha Preparatory back to the Land of Fire championship finals.

The first two steps in his plan were already accomplished. The last one was proving to be rather difficult because most of the members on Sasuke’s soccer team had the athletic capabilities of a bag of soggy potato chips.

He could count the dependable teammates on one hand—Neji the goalie, Lee and Kiba the left and right midfielders respectively, Shikamaru the central midfielder (ironically the hardest working role was given to the laziest member), and finally Sasuke himself: team captain, attacking midfielder, and best player Kohona Preparatory had seen since his brother graduated. The rest of the team was about as helpful as umbrellas during a hurricane, which was to say, not helpful at all.

This was why, even with Sasuke on the team for the past two years, Konoja Preparatory’s soccer team legacy was still in the dirt. They hadn’t even made it to the quarterfinals, let alone the championships, because the team was an offensive monster but a defensive mess. Sasuke could only hope the incoming batch of students were better so he could _finally_ get rotations underway, and rid himself of his useless team members.

* * *

It was the evening before the first day of school when a knock came on Sasuke’s dormitory door. Since everyone had moved back to campus in anticipation of the new school year, it was probably Neji or Lee wanting to get a game plan for tryouts later that week.

Good timing.

But when Sasuke opened the door, the person standing there was neither Neji nor Lee. Instead of Neji’s immaculately put-together persona or Lee’s new-money boisterousness, the teenager standing there was dressed in the most obnoxious pajama set he had ever seen. Sasuke warily eyed the neon orange tee and the frog patterned pants before making the decision that this person would by no means add to his future network. Therefore, Sasuke couldn’t be bothered.

“Can I help you?” Sasuke asked in a way which clearly indicated he did not want to help at all.

“Just wanted to say hello—I’m Naruto from the room next door. I just finished settling in,” the stranger drawled in the most distinct southern accent Sasuke had heard in his life, “I already introduced myself to the other folks on this floor—you’re the last one. Nice to meet you, neighbor!”

Naruto stuck out his hand for a handshake. Sasuke looked at the offered hand, then back at the man’s hideously awful ensemble, and promptly shut the door in Naruto’s face. He didn’t have time to waste on country bumpkins.

* * *

The first day of classes was nothing special because all Sasuke was thinking about was tryouts and how potentially amazing or potentially awful they were going to be. There wasn’t a single teacher who bothered calling on him even though he was clearly distracted. His penchant for correctly answering questions was impeccable. It wouldn’t have mattered.

They were in the middle of a lesson when the girl sitting behind him tapped his shoulder. He turned around—Sakura, he remembered, successor to the Haruno Group Holdings—and gave her a pointed look. She twirled a piece of hair around her finger. “My eraser fell under your seat,” she whispered shyly. “Would you mind grabbing it for me?”

Ah, so they were playing _that_ sort of game. He initially thought that Sakura, given her social standing, would be above resorting to basic manipulative tactics, but unfortunately he was mistaken. And unfortunately for her, Sasuke hated playing those types of games. But, it was the first day of school and he wasn’t about to close off a future business partner, so he picked up her eraser from the ground (it hadn’t even been used), casually dropped it on her desk, and turned back around.

He thought that would be the end of it—he had important things to think about, like tryouts—but Sakura wasn’t finished trying to get his attention. She tapped him on the shoulder again, interrupting his mental soccer gameplay, and Sasuke rolled his eyes at the ceiling before turning back around.

He waited for her to speak. It didn’t take long.

“You’re the captain of the soccer team right? Are your tryouts this week?” she asked breathily. “Can I come watch?”

Sasuke thought about it. Usually, he would say no. He didn’t like being scrutinized by people who just wanted something nice to look at—there were plenty of other, prettier, more interesting things to observe than Sasuke on the soccer field. Distractions (like fans, or girls, or fangirls), were completely unnecessary and quite frankly, extremely bothersome. However, if Sakura came to tryouts, she would bring her friends along. With future marriage candidates observing from the sidelines, the Konoha Prep boys would surely want to show off...so maybe some good players would actually come. This thought kept Sasuke from saying something nasty back at her.

“Do what you want,” he said, and faced the blackboard once more.

Sakura’s voice echoed wistfully behind him. “I’ll be there all three days, cheering you on.” Sasuke made a mental note: Sakura was really good at being _really annoying_.

The instant class ended, he stuffed his belongings into his bag (Sakura tried to get his attention, Sasuke ignored her because it was something he didn’t care for) and exited the building. He was looking for a familiar face and he found it—Neji was at their regular meeting spot near the dining hall. With Neji, there was no need for any fake pleasantries, which Sasuke appreciated. The two teammates quickly fell into step with each other as they loaded their plates up with food.

“Thinking about tryouts?” asked Neji.

Sasuke nodded. “Just praying that we get a good team this year. We need to approach this differently so we pick the best members possible. I’m thinking we do a couple of endurance tests on day one, then we lead into the drills and scrimmages on day two and three.”

Neji forked some broccoli onto his plate. “That sounds good to me. Do you think we’ll have enough interested people to last three days?”

“Hope so. At least two days for sure. With the way our team’s looking right now, I’d weed through the entire school to scrabble up a group that’s better.”

It didn’t take long for Lee to meet up with them at the dining hall table. Sasuke could have noticed him from a mile away—his slick, gelled hair was like a shining beacon. He was gesticulating wildly about something, but Sasuke couldn’t make it out over all the chewing the man was doing. He eyed Lee’s uniform sleeve with mild distaste. His friend had already gotten mustard on it. Finally, Lee swallowed the last bit of his sandwich and said proudly—

“—I found some new recruits to attend tryouts for the soccer team!” The smile Lee flashed could have powered an entire light bulb factory. Sasuke doubted the word “low-key” existed in Lee’s vocabulary.

“The youth are particularly passionate this year!” He continued. “Several people I’ve talked to have taken lessons or played on their previous school teams! I have high hopes!”

Lee always had high hopes. Sasuke was a bit more pragmatic. “Good job on spreading the word. But it doesn’t matter if they’re passionate or played before,” he said, picking at his salad. “If they aren’t good, I don’t want them on my team.” He looked around. Two key people were missing from their group. “And speaking of the team...where are Kiba and Shikamaru?”

“Kiba’s off flirting with the new girls, and Shikamaru is probably passed out in an empty classroom,” Neji said offhandedly, “The usual. We can brainstorm about the tryouts between us three. But let’s just make sure before we make any decisions that we connect with Coach Kakashi. He’d probably want to be involved.”

Sasuke knew Neji was just saying it for the sake of saying it—Coach Kakashi definitely didn’t want to be involved.

“Fine—I’ll talk to him,” Sasuke muttered under his breath. “Though I don’t expect anything useful to come out of that meeting. Did the other half-wits start working on the recruitment pamphlets like I told them to?”

Neji gave him a dead look. “What do you think?”

It wasn’t anything he hadn’t expected, but that didn’t stop Sasuke from viciously stabbing the poor chicken breast on his plate with his fork. “I literally gave them one _miniscule_ task to do and they can’t even take it seriously. Those useless shitheads just want an easy athletics addition on their bullshit resumes and college applications,” he hissed. “If their parents weren’t rich they wouldn’t even have gotten into this stupid school.”

“Do you want me to make the pamphlets?” Neji asked. “We have a bit of time before our next class. I could get it done.”

Sasuke contemplated the idea for a moment before shaking his head. “No need, just kick our vice-captain into gear and make him do it. He needs to do something other than sleep.” He scarfed down the rest of his food and gathered up his belongings. “I’m going to talk to the coach. I’ll text the team chat with updates. See you guys later.”

* * *

It came as no surprise to Sasuke that his coach was acting particularly worthless when he found him in his office. His feet were kicked up on his desk and he was casually leafing through a novel that Sasuke didn’t want to know the contents of.

“Coach Kakashi,” Sasuke greeted tonelessly.

His coach looked at him with his one good eye and set his book down. There were many things the students at Konoha Preparatory said about Kakashi—like he lost vision in one eye from taking a sledgehammer to the face in a mafia fight. Or he always wore a face mask because he was secretly afraid of contracting diseases from his students. Or his silver hair wasn’t dyed—it was genetic. Sasuke didn’t believe in any of those rumors—it was obvious Coach Kakashi just did these things to appear cooler. It hadn’t worked when Sasuke first met him, and it sure as hell wasn't working now.

“Sasuke! Good to see you again. Hope you had a good summer vacation.”

Sasuke did not like beating around the bush. He preferred a blunt, straightforward approach. “Thank you. My vacation was fine. I’m here to talk to you about tryouts.”

“Ah,” Coach Kakashi mused. “That time of the year already, is it?”

Sasuke wanted to say something about how the tryouts were always during the first week of school but held his tongue. “We have access to the field for an hour from Wednesday to Friday, since the american football team needs to use it for their tryouts too. I’m thinking about endurance tests first, and then drills and scrimmages. Does that sound like a plan to you?”

Sasuke said this all in a way which indicated he would not accept any pushback.

“Sure, great plan Sasuke. I’ll be there to supervise of course—” Sasuke internally rolled his eyes, the man would be doing nothing of the sort—“But do you need anything else from me to make tryouts a bit easier on you?”

“No.”

“Perfect!” Coach Kakashi said cheerily. “Thanks for the update, captain.”

“Thanks as always for your tutelage,” Sasuke responded dryly. “I’ll see you on Wednesday. And please, don’t be late.”

Sasuke’s words fell on deaf ears. His coach was already back to reading his novel.

* * *

By the time gym class rolled around, Sasuke had passed out his fair share of pamphlets. More accurately, girls who were very interested in Sasuke snatched all the pamphlets from him like he was holding a tray of hotcakes. He didn’t know what they were going to do with the information—it was a boys team after all.

He pulled open the familiar double doors to the gym locker room and was immediately accosted by a cacophony of sounds—clattering lockers, chatting, general immature conversations. It was rowdier than he remembered. It didn’t take him long to see what was going on—the first day of school meant those with lesser brain cells were busy comparing if their muscles grew larger over the summer. It was, as Kiba would have put it: “hella stupid.”

Sasuke did a quick skim of his classmates and didn’t notice anyone of importance. There was a familiar face however—the blonde bumpkin who had introduced himself to Sasuke the day before sat in the corner of the locker room, chest confidently bared. He was grinning, saying something in the drawling, low accent which basically pointed out he didn’t hail from any rich-ass family in the surrounding area. The accent might as well have been a blaring, neon halogen sign with bells and whistles, screaming "I'M NOT FROM AROUND HERE!". That didn’t deter his new classmates however—rather it encouraged them to get closer. They likely had never met someone like Naruto before, Sasuke thought to himself, which had to be the only reason they were swarming him like locusts.

Naruto flexed his arm. He looked like a willing participant in the muscle comparison game, because he was showing off a regretfully impressive bicep. Probably honed from doing whatever farming work he was in charge of before he moved. It was nothing special. Sasuke dutifully ignored him and made a calculated decision not to make eye contact, quietly changing into his gym uniform and lacing up his shoes. It was annoying, but Naruto appeared to have made his fair share of friends already despite transferring only a couple days ago. Sasuke couldn’t understand the appeal. He simply chalked it up to his bad luck, and just hoped by some godly miracle that they would never have to interact.

Gods, as it turned out, didn’t perform miracles for people like Sasuke.

After they all filed into the gym, Coach Gai instructed them to sit alphabetically by family name. This meant Sasuke was sitting in front of Naruto, who he pretended not to recognize. He was already doing his best to promote minimal contact. From the way Naruto kept glaring at his back however, the feeling was not mutual.

Their coach was taking attendance when the glares became particularly pointed. Sasuke turned around. Fine. If Naruto wanted a confrontation, he was happy to oblige. Sasuke never backed down from a fight. “What is your problem?” he asked bluntly.

Naruto scowled. “I should be asking you the same thing. Your attitude yesterday was rude.”

“My apologies,” Sasuke answered. “I shouldn’t have opened my door for you at all. Mother always told me not to open doors for solicitors.”

“My pa always said we should be kind to our neighbors, but I wonder if the same rule applies if our neighbors are giant dickwads,” said Naruto.

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “What did you—”

“Sasuke Uchiha?”

“—Present.”

“Naruto Uzumaki?”

“...Present.”

Sasuke turned back to face the front. It would be tolerable, he reassured himself. He could handle it. If he only had to interact with Naruto during gym class, it was as simple as ignoring him. The other teen’s existence was a drop in the bucket. He would have no bearing on Sasuke’s future.

Unfortunately the universe had other plans—Coach Gai told them to pair up with the person behind them for warm up stretches. It was clear since Naruto was the last one in line and had no one else to partner up with, Sasuke was forced to be his partner. Not that it was any consolation, but Naruto didn’t look pleased with it either.

Sasuke followed up their paired exercise with a snappy comment. “So, dead last in line, just like you’ll be in life. I’m sensing a pattern here.”

“Just wait till the teacher isn’t watching,” Naruto replied. “We’ll settle this like men. I ain’t about to be walked on like some deadbeat doormat on my first day.”

“Your words, not mine,” Sasuke gloated, pushing Naruto further into the stretch till he yelped in pain.

True to his word, the moment Coach Gai had his back turned to monitor the rest of the class, Naruto whirled around and aimed a fast punch at Sasuke's face. What he didn’t know was that Sasuke had been waiting for it, and therefore he was able to block most of the blow with his forearm so damage was minimal. Naruto had started it, so Sasuke was off the hook—anything else would be considered self defense. With that thought in mind, Sasuke put his back into it and returned the hit. It quickly escalated into an all out brawl with Naruto matching him fist for fist. Sasuke didn’t care that other students were watching, horrified, as they swung at one another like a couple of neanderthals. He had never been in a real fight against someone before, but he had martial arts training under his belt and was sure if the fight prolonged itself, he could beat the crap out of Naruto.

Before he could test his theory, their fight ended with a strong yank on both of their shirt collars. Sasuke was out of breath and from the looks of it, Naruto was too. Coach Gai’s expression was not pleased. Once their coach affirmed they were no longer going to rip out each other's throats, he said, “As much as I respect your explosions of youth—to fight like this at school is completely unacceptable. I’m disappointed in the both of you. Who started it?”

“Sasuke,” Naruto said instantly. “He was antagonizing me, coach.”

“Naruto,” Sasuke said, just as quickly. “He punched me in the face.”

“From what _I_ saw, Sasuke started it,” added a slimy voice. “He was being rude to the new kid—calling him names and stuff.” Sasuke instantly glared at the accuser. The voice belonged to a someone who had been at last year’s soccer tryouts, who Sasuke had rejected despite the large monetary bribe shoved at him. If looks could kill, the smarmy bastard would be as dead as a doornail.

“I’ll take your comments into consideration when I make my write up,” said Coach Gai with a degree of finality. He gestured to the door. “Mr. Uzumaki and Mr. Uchiha, if you would please head on over to the principal’s office.”

Sasuke knew a visit to the principal’s office was the logical next step after a brawl between students, but he had been so preoccupied with punching his opponent that he had forgotten. Therefore when Coach Gai mentioned it, he was shocked. He looked at Naruto. Naruto looked back at him and shrugged like he had walked the road to the principal’s office hundreds of times.

Coach Gai raised a bushy eyebrow at his immobile students. “What’s wrong? Do I have to walk you there myself?”

“No sir,” they answered in unison.

Sasuke may have slightly regretted his previous actions. Getting into an altercation was not on his list of things to do on his first day.

As Naruto likely didn’t know the way to the principal’s office, Sasuke took the lead and pushed open the gymnasium doors. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and scowled. There was only one person to blame for all of it, and it was the bum-country fuck who lived next door. Fuck Naruto, fuck having gym class with Naruto, fuck getting riled up by Naruto. Naruto was an unwelcome addition to Sasuke’s life. He wanted nothing to do with him. Forever.

The object of his anger sullenly trailed behind him. “This is all your fault. Why’d ya have to go and be such a turd?” Naruto lamented. “You got us in trouble.”

“You punched me in the face,” said Sasuke flatly. “I think the responsibility lies with you on this one.”

“Not like it actually hurt you,” Naruto responded. “Your block was half-decent.” Then, he snickered and added, “You punch like a pussy, though.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “Oh? Count your lucky stars I wasn’t using my legs then.”

“So you admit you punch like a pussy?”

Naruto didn’t know it, but he was on _very_ thin ice. So thin, in fact, that Sasuke was close to kicking the ice they were standing on just so he could wrestle Naruto down in a competition to see who would drown first. And he was _very_ good at holding his breath. However, Sasuke’s retort died on his tongue when they rounded the corner to the principal’s office because as the large oak door loomed increasingly closer, he recalled with terrifying clarity what kind of woman sat behind it. If Naruto blabbed anything stupid, Sasuke could kiss his role as team captain goodbye.

“Listen,” he said under his breath, hand resting hesitatingly on the doorknob, “Unless you want us both to get into more trouble than it's worth, let me do the talking.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “I bet you think I’m stupid or something.” Yes, Sasuke did think that. “I ain’t letting you throw me under the bus for something that was your fault. I say what I want.”

Sasuke pursed his lips. Nothing was going to get through Naruto’s cement-thick skull, so there was no point in arguing further. Neither of them was going to come out of the office unscathed.

* * *

“So,” Principal Tsunade said, idly tapping a pencil against her desk, “You mean to tell me that on the first day of school, the best student in the grade and one of the new transfer students argued with one another, and decided the best way to solve their differences was through a fist fight?”

Naruto, who was sitting casually in the seat next to Sasuke, said with complete confidence: “Yes ma’am, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

There was a long pause where Tsunade contemplated Naruto’s response, and Sasuke spent the silence hoping the principal would have mercy on them. The woman was a terror—well-connected, unpredictable, and had the assertiveness to back it up. If she wished it, they could both be expelled within the hour.

Luckily for him, expulsion wasn’t in the cards for them that day—Principal Tsunade broke the silence by laughing loudly and leaning back in her chair. “You’ve got guts Naruto—I’ll tell you that. Listen, it's the first day of school. There’s a whole semester ahead of you, so I’ll give you kids the benefit of the doubt. Sasuke, given your previous record with the school, you can still participate in soccer tryouts later this week. Full disclosure: I’d really like to have the Land of Fire championship trophy in our display case this year.”

Sasuke let out a breath of relief. He was glad he and the principal were on the same page on that one.

“Naruto,” she continued, “I understand you’re new here, and this is probably a different environment for you. But at Konoha Preparatory, we don’t solve our problems like hot headed teenagers—even if you are one. Watch yourself next time.”

She took out two pink slips from her drawer and filled them out, passing one to Sasuke and one to Naruto. “Both of you should reflect on your actions. Detention for the remainder of the day. Be grateful I’m letting you off so easy and not telling your guardians. Now scram.”

They scrammed.

“I told you it would be fine,” said Naruto, once again following Sasuke, but this time to detention. “We got off easy.”

“What do you mean ‘easy’?” snapped Sasuke. The pink slip burned like shame in his hand. “I’ve never gotten detention before in my life!”

“You’ve probably never punched anyone in your life either, which is why you punch like a pussy.”

Sasuke was going to strangle him.

* * *

If there was one thing Konoha Preparatory was good at, it was spreading rumors, because no one at the school could keep their fucking mouth shut. By the end of the day, everyone knew Sasuke and Naruto had gotten into a fight. The rumor mill had spun it into some classic rivalry between the new student, who just wanted to make friends, and the old student, who wasn’t willing to give up his throne of popularity. It was stupidly dramatic and unnecessary.

Kiba howled with laughter and clapped Sasuke hard on the back when they all met up again at the dorms. “I didn’t know you had it in you! Good thing he didn’t aim for your legs, or you would have a rough time with tryouts,” he cackled.

Sasuke dumped his book bag on the common room couch. “Is there anyone who hasn’t heard?” he asked dryly. His teammates shook their heads. Sasuke let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. He was getting a headache.

“So tell me, did you get your ass handed to you? Or did you hand him his ass?” Kiba asked.

“Must you speak so crudely?” said Neji from the sidelines. Kiba made an obscene gesture with his fingers.

“There was no ass-handing of any sort from either of us. He threw the first punch, I blocked it. And then we slugged it out and we both got our asses handed to us by Tsunade,” said Sasuke bitterly.

“Hey, but you have to admit, not everyone has the balls to fight the school’s soccer captain. Looks like the new transfer student doesn’t care about that kind of shit though, which makes him cool in my book,” Kiba grinned.

“He’s a hick, Kiba. I thought you were supposed to be on my side,” Sasuke said.

His friend shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with hicks. And who said I’m not?”

* * *

The following day wasn’t any better. Sakura was still tapping him on the shoulder during Literature class, and he and Naruto pointedly avoided talking to each other during gym. But that wasn’t to say Sasuke didn’t let his competitive streak get the better of him.

He purposely pitted himself against Naruto during singles tennis, because if there was one thing he wanted to make clear, it was that he didn’t swing like a pussy. The match was close—for someone who had never swung a racquet before, Naruto had surprisingly good aim. Probably from doing something dumb, like tossing corncobs into a bucket, thought Sasuke. But for once, the universe was on his side, because when Coach Gai blew the whistle signaling the end of class, it was match point, and Sasuke scored an ace shot that hit the corner edge of the court with so much force it likely would have knocked a small animal unconscious.

As he passed by Naruto to return his racquet to the bin, he muttered under his breath, “Suck it, bitch.”

Naruto didn’t give him any warning when he punched him again. Sasuke punched back. They both got their second detention slips of the year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back down the Naruto rabbit hole and couldn't stop thinking about Naruto Shippuden ending 2 so here we are—I joined AO3 just so I could write this lmao
> 
> I know next to nothing about soccer/football and had to do super basic research on it, so if you have any knowledge of the sport and find anything inaccurate please let me know! And with any spelling and grammar mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them, I feel like I’ve reread everything a million times but something always catches ya by surprise like a semi truck speeding down a country road if yanno what I mean


	2. One Kick In the Ass is Worth Two in the Goal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon—hear me out—Sasuke and hairclips. That is all. I rest my case.

Naruto didn’t know too much about rich girls, but he did know one thing about the rich girl in his Biology class.

Sakura was not only cute, but more importantly, she was smart. She was smart in a way his countryside classmates could have never been, even if they strained themselves 'til steam came out their ears.

Naruto watched her tuck her hair behind her ears from his seat in the back corner of the classroom. She was listening intently to the teacher like she was trying to absorb everything and anything that he was saying. She took notes, gave her undivided attention, and asked questions by raising one graceful wrist into the air. To a man like Naruto, her intelligence was _very_ attractive.

He decided after watching her that she would make a fine girlfriend.

After class ended he sidled up to her and shot her his most winning smile. “Hey there—Sakura, right? Just wanted to say I was really impressed with the way you answered the teach's question on yoo...yoo..."

She stared blankly at him. "Eukaryotic cells?"

"Exactly. Now, I'm not sure you know who I am, since I haven’t formally introduced myself—Naruto Uzumaki, at your service. It's a pleasure to meetcha.” Naruto mentally patted himself on the back for his suave introduction. If he wasn't aiming for Sakura, he would have fallen for himself.

Sakura did not look impressed. “I know who you are. You got in a fight with Sasuke two days in a row, and consequently landed him in detention as well. You should be thoroughly ashamed of your actions.”

Naruto’s eyebrows shot up so high they almost reached his hairline. This was not going according to plan. Sakura was acting oddly defensive. “Me? Ashamed—? What, so Sasuke wasn’t at fault at all, even though he was acting like a giant bag of dicks? You like him or something?”

It seemed like he hit the nail right on the head because she instantly flushed as pink as her hair. “Watch your language!” she hissed. “And I beg your pardon!? You can’t just ask a lady a question like that!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s private! It’s personal! No—frankly—it's none of your business!”

Naruto raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Well, I dunno who you’re trying to hide it from, but it sounds like you’re interested in him. And I’ve gotta be honest with ya—he doesn't have much going for him. He’s ‘bout as worthless as gum on a boot heel.”

From Naruto’s limited interactions with Sasuke, he felt like he had a pretty gauge on the kind of guy Sasuke was. The fact that the kid had never even been to detention until last Monday was evidence enough. Sasuke was clearly two things: 1) a goodie two-shoes with an ego as deep as his parents’ pockets and 2) a rude asshole who punched like he had a broken arm.

“You don’t know a single thing about Sasuke, so don’t go bad mouthing him!” Sakura answered Naruto in a heated outburst. “He’s one of the smartest, hardest-working students in our grade, he’s really good looking—” Naruto didn’t understand how that was a point to be made—”And he’s an incredibly talented soccer player. That’s why he’s been team captain ever since he started going to Konoha Prep. And finally, for the record, his classroom attendance was perfect until _you_ showed up.”

Naruto had no choice but to defend himself. “Well, it takes two to tango—I may have punched him first, but it's not like he didn’t fight back.”

“That’s because he has a sense of _honor_ ,” she sniffed. And that turned out to be the end of their conversation—she stuck her nose in the air, and left him flabbergasted.

Naruto let out a low whistle. If this was what rich city girls were like, he was woefully unprepared. But then again, her feistiness was attractive too.

* * *

Naruto found out about the soccer tryouts through the grapevine. Well, more like from one very loud soccer team member who had shouted the details in the hallways like a broken radio. Naruto respected the effort—if everyone tackled their passions with half the enthusiasm as that kid did, the world would be a better place.

Naruto had been _dying_ to play some soccer after his move into the city. His pa's new place didn't have a large enough yard for him to practice the way he did back in the countryside, and there was only so much juggling he could do in his dorm room. The news that his stuck-up fancy-pants school had a soccer team had been the best thing he had heard of since the invention of cubed cheese. So, the following day, Naruto showed up at soccer tryouts decked out in his new equipment: a bright orange jersey and shin guards his pa had specifically picked up for the occasion. The equipment, combined with his worn-in cleats and trusty, beat-up soccer ball, made him feel he could do anything.

Naruto set his mouth into a determined line and skimmed over his competition. There were more people than he thought there would be. Within the crowd, he spotted Sasuke stretching out his legs. A group of girls (including Sakura) sat in the stands, whispering excitedly to each other. But Naruto was not about to be distracted from the task at hand. He was there for one reason, and one reason only.

This reason was not because Sakura and her girl friends were watching, nor because he still had a bone to pick with Sasuke, nor because he had nothing better to do.

Naruto was there because he legitimately wanted to join the Konoha Preparatory soccer team. If he passed tryouts, he could finally play soccer on a team—a _real_ team—instead of kicking a ball by himself in the acreage behind his farmhouse. He didn’t even give a rat’s ass if his team members didn’t like him, because playing with anyone was better than playing alone. And he had played far too many games by himself with just birds and the wind for company.

Therefore, when he and Sasuke made eye contact on the soccer field, surrounded by all the other soccer team hopefuls, he didn’t look away. He held the stare for as long as he could. Sasuke was last year's captain. There was no doubt he would return to the team, and if Naruto was as good as he thought he was, then they would be teammates that season. There was a crackle between them, one Naruto hadn’t felt it in a while but knew what it was—it was the spark of competition, and the breath of rivalry. Back in the countryside, he hadn’t had anyone to challenge him. But now, Sasuke was in front of him, representing the most formidable challenger he had ever encountered.

And Naruto was excited.

He rolled his tongue over his canines. Sasuke may have been team captain for two years, but he wasn’t exempt from tryouts. Naruto would make sure he saw Naruto as a legitimate threat.

The soccer coach, who had more of his face covered than not, kicked off the tryouts.

“Yo—nice to meet you all, I’m the head coach for the team: Coach Kakashi. Good to see some returning members, and good to see some fresh faces. Wanted to take the time to say thanks for coming to try out for the team. Whether you make it or not, I hope this experience is helpful in your development as players.”

He began to idly pace the field. When he glanced at Naruto, Naruto immediately stood a little straighter.

“I will preface this by saying although I might act buddy-buddy with you all, my role here is as a coach and as a mentor. This means I will not tolerate any half-assed attempts in these tryouts, just as I will not tolerate any half-assed attempts in practice if you make the team. Are we clear?”

The students nodded.

“Wonderful. Let’s start out with some laps.”

* * *

The students trying out for the team were a mixed bag. Some were clearly athletic, and others were clearly...not. Most boys tried to impress the sidelined girls and started off sprinting, which backfired spectacularly as the coach let the endurance laps drag on and on. Naruto paced himself, controlling his breathing and focusing on the push and pull of his leg muscles. It felt good to run in an open space with the breeze cutting through the sticky summer air. At least...it did for the time being.

They did laps for a very, very long time.

Only a few participants were still running when Kakashi called them to circle up. The remainder staggered back, thoroughly exhausted. Naruto was only interested in one person, however. He kept his eye on Sasuke as he walked to the field center. The captain looked a little less cool with purple clips pinning his bangs to the side, but his breath was even despite running the equivalent of six miles. He had gone toe to toe with Naruto for each lap.

Sasuke caught Naruto watching him and raised a single eyebrow in challenge.

Naruto flipped him off.

Coach Kakashi set them up with ladder sprints next, having prepared the cones while they were running laps. Naruto and Sasuke didn't need any prompting on what to do—they both took off at the same time. They sprinted neck in neck, nose to nose, neither person giving an inch as they raced between the cones. 

Naruto tunnel-visioned in on the way Sasuke moved—efficient and graceful, quiet and thoughtful in his motions. Naruto’s stance was the stark opposite—brash, powerful, and loud. Even as a lanky teen with untrimmed eyebrows doubled their pace, Naruto kept his eyes glued on Sasuke, watching his cleats lift up bits of turf as he cut through the field. 

After what felt like an eternity, Coach Kakashi blew the whistle signaling the end of the day’s tryouts. Naruto collapsed on the grass, sweat rolling down his neck, trying to catch his breath. He was tired. He hadn't pushed himself that hard in a long time.

The sky was cloudless and it burned into his retinas. His head hurt. Sasuke wasn’t faring much better—he greedily gulped down water before dousing himself in what was left. The girls giggled and fanned themselves.

“Show off,” Naruto muttered under his breath.

The next day of tryouts brought their competitiveness to a new high. Naruto finally, _finally_ got to show off his footwork, weaving in and out of the cones with Sasuke right on his tail. The ball felt sure against his cleats. At the end of his run he performed a small trickshot, to which one of the students let out an appreciative wolf whistle. Naruto beamed.

Sasuke, finishing right after him, performed a slightly more complicated trickshot. The girls watching exploded in a fit of cheers with Sakura screaming the loudest. Naruto frowned—well, they could compete in doing trickshots all day, that wasn’t even his best one—but he wasn’t a sore loser. He knew a good player when he saw one. So, he just sat down on the field and grudgingly admitted that Sasuke’s trickshot _had_ been just a little bit cool.

But then Sasuke had to completely ruin the moment by mouthing, _You kick like a pussy_ , to which Naruto had no choice but to mouth in return, _Suck my dick_.

And finally, it was the last day of tryouts: scrimmage day. The amount of participants had dwindled significantly. Coach Kakashi made them pick lots to decide teams. Naruto drew white, and so did Sasuke.

“I guess we’re on the same team then,” Naruto said, putting on his white bandanna.

Sasuke snorted. “Yeah, for now. Try not to hold me back.”

The shrill screech of the whistle cut through the air. The red team started with the ball, casually passing between it one another while looking for an opening. From the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Sasuke sizing up their opponents. Things were momentarily at a standstill.

Then, Sasuke tensed.

If Naruto hadn’t been carefully keeping his eye on him he would have missed the instant Sasuke took off—so fast that he swore there was an afterimage. Sasuke made a sharp turn which would have snapped a regular person’s ankles, a sly, triumphant smile on his face as he passed right by his surprised opponent. He moved like a ghost. With a flick of his cleat, Sasuke looped the ball towards himself and dashed towards the offensive. And just like that, Sasuke stole the ball and the white team was in possession.

Naruto instantly ran to get into position. He mirrored Sasuke across the field and glanced at the other team’s formation. There was a small break—from the angle he was at, he could try scoring if he had the ball. He whipped around to look at Sasuke.

They made eye contact. Sasuke had been watching him too.

In a split second, Sasuke passed the ball to Naruto. Naruto’s body went on autopilot, catching the ball with his chest and then running forwards to keep the play in motion. He barely had time to think about how that was his first time receiving a ball from another soccer player, only slightly realizing this was how a real team worked, people passed to each other all the time—

With the red team collapsing on him from both sides, the break in their defense was shrinking, and along with it the path to the goal. So Naruto planted one foot down, lined up the other with the ball, and took the shot. His aim was perfect—right into the corner of the net—but the goalie’s reflexes were even more perfect. He deflected the ball just enough with his fingertips so it rolled out of bounds.

Without registering the words spilling from his mouth, Naruto called out, “Sorry Sasuke—thought I had it.”

Sasuke shook his head from across the field. “If Neji wasn’t the goalie, you would have made it. You’ll make it next time.” Then, he blinked, like he was surprised at what he had just said, and turned away. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

Their opponents threw the ball back into the field. The scrimmage started again.

* * *

“What’s going on kiddo? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you picking at your breakfast like that,” Iruka said. “First week of school was that bad?”

“M’nervous,” Naruto mumbled. He was back home for the weekend and his favorite blueberry waffles were drowning in syrup. The combination was usually the perfect start to his day, but for some reason his stomach was churning. He didn’t feel like eating breakfast. It was weird.

“My kid? Nervous? Never thought those two words would be used in the same sentence,” Iruka smiled. He set a warm hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “It’s okay to have an off-day. Are you still settling in from the move?”

Naruto looked around at the several boxes remaining to be unpacked. They were filled with miscellaneous knickknacks his Pa hadn’t had the time to put away just yet. The move had been rather abrupt as it was.

Naruto wasn’t exactly sure what possessed his pa to sell their farm. But, he had an inkling, and it was likely due to the real estate agent’s ridiculously high offer, plus a hefty sum to relocate. Iruka didn’t seem to mind. He said he had always wanted to enroll Naruto in a better school, and the opportunity was as good of a time as any. So Iruka signed the papers and that was that. They sold their land, packed their things, and moved into a fancy apartment with high ceilings and a lovely garden, with money burning a hole through their pockets.

Naruto still wasn’t used to not seeing cornfields outside his window, but that wasn’t the issue.

“Naw, it's not the move. It’s just...you know how I had tryouts...and I texted you yesterday about how they went.” He chewed his lip and pushed his waffle around on his plate. “I thought I did okay, but after sleeping on it, I’m not so sure. There’s this one guy who’s like...really, really good. Actually, there are a lot of guys that are really, really good.”

“Competition’s tough?”

“Understatement of the year,” said Naruto.

“Well, that just means once you all get accepted on the team, Konoha Preparatory’s soccer team will be even more dangerous than it was last year,” said Iruka confidently. “I know you, Naruto. You worked hard to get here. And you’re gonna be a great soccer player, just like your dad was.”

Naruto grinned. His pa always knew just what to say. The waffle was looking much more appetizing now. “Thanks for the vote of confidence...but you know you’re my dad too, right?”

Iruka chuckled and sipped his coffee. “You know what I mean.”

* * *

Naruto made the team. So did Sasuke.

Initially, neither was too happy about it.

The instant the roster results were announced, Sasuke asked Coach Kakashi in front of their newly formed team as to why Naruto was there.

“Because he’s good?” the coach offered as a response. “And we need good players?”

Naruto puffed out his chest. Sasuke didn’t look pleased in the slightest. “He’s not good,” Sasuke said. “I don’t approve.”

Coach Kakashi shrugged. “I guess we’re in luck that I’m the one who decides who makes the team, and not you, huh?”

Sasuke seethed. During the first practice of the year, he seemed to have a personal vendetta against Naruto, glaring and huffing and refusing to cooperate with him. They were put on the same scrimmage team again, and he pointedly ignored passing the ball to Naruto, even if it was the most optimal decision.

Coach Kakashi called him out on it. “Sasuke, play nice. You’re supposed to be a role model to your fellow team members, even if you may personally feel differently about them. When you’re on the field, put your differences aside.”

Naruto immediately jumped on the opportunity to tease him, jeering, “Ain't my captain just a _peach_? He’s giving the other team members a chance since he’s too afraid to have me on the same team. You chicken, Sasuke? You afraid I’m going to show everyone I’m a better player than you are?”

The look Sasuke shot him could have curdled milk. Naruto could tell he was close to instigating another fight and he was _itching_ for it. There was nothing quite like punching the shit out of a jackass. Coach Kakashi sensed their hostility before anything drastic could occur, and they both were regulated to the bench for the rest of practice until they could stop “acting like asinine children”...whatever that meant.

In the days that followed, Naruto still hadn’t forgotten that Sasuke was a dick, but he also hadn’t forgotten their teamwork on the last day of tryouts. It was like Sasuke had been one of the players from his countryside daydreams; back when he would replay the television broadcasted games in his head, but instead of the professional players, it was him and his future friends. Sasuke had moved like that, moved in the way that Naruto would have moved if he had been there—always showing up in the spot where he was needed most, like well-organized product placement. While Naruto taunted and goaded Sasuke to play with him, hoping to relive their teamwork, Sasuke appeared hell bent on trying to forget it. The combination of these two attitudes put their relationship in a strange state of limbo.

Despite Naruto not knowing quite how to act around Sasuke, one thing was for certain. No one could deny that they shared the same brain cell when it came to soccer. After the incident on their first day of practice, Sasuke seemed to have taken Coach Kakashi’s words to heart and began treating Naruto more like a team member (albeit reluctantly). He still wasn’t friendly by any definition of the term. His cold shoulder was positively frigid and he never chatted with Naruto in the locker room, never paid him any attention when they weren’t on the field, and was still trying to beat his ass in every sport they played in gym class.

They weren’t friends.

But silent treatment aside, any time Sasuke was on the offensive, Naruto was always in a prime position to take the ball. And any time Naruto was getting focused by the opposing team, Sasuke was always within reach for a pass. They worked like two perfectly meshed gears when they weren’t trying to bite each other’s heads off. It out of necessity, not because they got along. But even then, it became too much for the others to handle. Eventually Coach Kakashi had to split them into different practice groups just to give the other team members a fair shot.

That moment kickstarted a new phase in their relationship. Their Coach had acknowledged they were a force to be reckoned with. It was flattering to Naruto, and he knew if _he_ was flattered, then Sasuke was too.

Sasuke passed the ball to him more often after that.

Several of Naruto’s new teammates also lived on his dormitory floor. Soccer practice helped formulate their bond as a team, but it was spending time outside of practice which cemented their bond as friends. Kiba was always willing to pull Naruto into the common room for video game night and Lee was always looking for a gym buddy. Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru were the more taciturn members of the group and preferred to read or play chess—quiet activities Naruto was not particularly fond of.

The one time Naruto and Kiba had gotten too rowdy playing video games during study hours, Sasuke had given them a glare so withering that they immediately turned off the console and went to bed. They didn’t play video games during study hours after that.

And then, maybe it was the effects of long term exposure or maybe he was finally over it, but the more time they spent together, the more Naruto noticed that Sasuke was warming up to him just a little bit. They continued to insult each other daily (gym class became an excuse for them to compete in something other than soccer) but slowly the heat faded away, and what remained was all bark and no bite. Sasuke started talking to him before and after practice. Naruto stopped calling him a pussy (for the most part). And while Naruto dubbed Sasuke his greatest rival—in love (because for some reason, Sakura was still attracted to the git), among other things—Sasuke simply rolled his eyes.

Sasuke and Naruto, Naruto and Sasuke. After a few weeks, their names were rarely said one without the other. The girls who watched their games on the sidelines whispered that they worked uncannily well together, despite how different they were.

Their bond was unique. It was simple. It was special.

And thus, with two buttheaded rivals as their new offensive duo, and a handful of practices under their belt, Konoha Preparatory completely crushed their first three soccer matches of the year.

* * *

They were gathered in the common room for a team meeting after their third stunning victory when Sasuke dropped a bomb on them. “We’re up against Suna Academy next week,” he said. “It’s going to be a hard game.”

All of the members aside from Naruto let out a collective groan. Kiba swore.

“What’s there to worry about?” Naruto pointed out. “Ya’ll are acting like we didn’t just win three games in a row.”

“We haven’t won a single game against Suna. Ever,” said Sasuke flatly.

“They’re hella strong,” added Kiba.

Naruto still didn’t understand how it was a problem. “Yeah, but that was before I joined the team, right? Things are different now.”

Sasuke gave him a pointed look and crossed his arms. “You stupid or something? I said what I said. Regardless of you being on the team, that doesn’t mean their team has gotten any less strong.”

Naruto was about to snap back with a crude response when Shikamaru interrupted him.

“The captain’s right, it’s going to be a fucking pain,” he sighed, like he was already foreseeing the amount of work ahead of him. ”I knew we’d have to face them eventually, but I didn’t think it’d be so early in the season. Our probability of winning is low.”

Naruto frowned. If Shikamaru was saying it was going to be difficult, then it probably was even harder than Sasuke made it seem. He glanced at the rest of his teammates, who all looked equally forlorn. Lee and Kiba were unusually silent.

“They scored a single goal against us last year,” said Lee quietly. “It was my fault. I couldn’t 1v1 Gaara.”

Kiba sighed. “Don’t keep beating yourself up over that one. That kid’s a monster. He and his siblings both. We didn’t stand a chance of scoring against their defense.”

“Yeah, but I still let the team down,” said Lee.

“I let the goal in,” said Neji. “We were all to blame for that loss.”

“Enough,” Sasuke said firmly. “We can wallow in our past mistakes as much as we’d like, but doesn’t change the fact that we have to face them next week. We need to keep in shape and focus on the target at hand. Even if we lose, it’s okay—we can afford a loss or two and still make it to the championship finals.”

Shikamaru nodded and stood up. “I’ll talk to the coach. It’s time for him to do what he's getting paid for.”

* * *

There was no doubt that the match between Kohona Preparatory and Suna Academy was the closest, most grueling, hard-fought battle in high school soccer history. The autumn rain that had been building over the course of the week decided the Saturday afternoon was the ideal time to start a downpour. Neither team was willing to call off the game for something as trivial as weather. The rain fell in sheets. The field became a muddy mess.

Sasuke and Shikamaru had fairly assessed Suna Academy’s capabilities. The sibling trio composed of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari formed an impenetrable defense and an aggressive offense. They were a powerhouse of ridiculous proportions. As the clouds rumbled low in the air, it only made them look that much more intimidating.

“Our attacking group is stronger than theirs, but unfortunately we can only depend on Neji for defense,” Shikamaru said as they huddled up before the start of the game for a last minute word of advice. “And don’t take Temari lightly. She’s a girl but she’s on the team for a reason. I’ll be honest and say I can’t predict how the match will shake out. Good luck out there.”

Naruto gulped. Sasuke and Gaara shook hands. The kickoff started.

Konoha Preparatory brought the best fight they had. The crowd’s cheers ran like liquid gold in their veins, spurring their abilities to their peaks as the rain continued to fall. Naruto and Sasuke sped across the field, eyes darting to and fro as they tried to score a goal. Shikamaru’s tactical passes were flawless. Kiba and Lee tailed the other players like shadows, and Neji blocked shot after shot after shot. Mud splattered across all their uniforms and into their hair. The rain made their vision blurry.

It was chaotic and messy. Naruto’s legs strained with exertion and his throat felt as though he were breathing fire, but he refused to be switched out for another player to rest, because if Sasuke was still out there on the field then he would be too. But ultimately, even as they continued doggedly forward, they were worn down, Suna’s endurance proving to be instrumental in their success.

Suna Academy scored a goal against them at the end of the first half.

Their morale took a massive hit. As the first half of the match ended, they took their break and gathered around one another. Coach Kakashi tried to cheer them up through the somber mood which settled around them like a wet blanket. “Don’t look so glum, guys! Suna Academy is strong, but they’re not invincible. We’ve got a pretty amazing team too so don’t sell yourselves short. Let’s focus on stopping their key players so their defense is open.”

Naruto could tell Coach Kakashi’s words were slightly empty—their coach probably believed their chances of winning were still slim—but he appreciated the sentiment all the same. He shook the rain from his hair. “We can do it,” Naruto said encouragingly. “There’s still time left. They’re only up one point.”

“Agreed,” Sasuke echoed, re-pinning his hair clips. “The game is far from over. We still have the entire second half to score a goal...Naruto and I will make something happen.”

They were all wet and exhausted, but hearing the confidence in Sasuke’s voice made the fatigue a bit more bearable. After all, if their team captain believed they could do it, why would they have reason to think otherwise?

As soon as the break ended they took to the field again and Konoha Prep gained control of the ball. They immediately pushed their advantage and aimed to score. Sasuke had only taken a brief break and had been working 110% the entire game, but still was able to dodge the other players with lightning fast footsteps, encroaching on Suna’s goalie until Temari noticed him and came at him like a hawk. In a split second, he kicked the ball away from himself. Shikamaru caught Sasuke’s pass and redirected the ball to Naruto.

“Go!” he yelled.

Naruto sprinted across Suna’s side of the field, his cleats sloshing against the ground and his jersey plastering itself to his chest. Suna’s defense was ready for him—they had already gotten in formation—but Naruto was faster—he sidestepped all their attempts to steal the ball and made a run which was nothing short of spectacular. But just as the path opened before him and he was about to take aim at the goal, he was blocked by an unexpected individual: Gaara.

Up close, Suna’s most dangerous player was even scarier than Naruto anticipated. He was small, light on his feet, and had the striking aura of a seven-foot bear. But Gaara wasn’t supposed to be on there—Lee was supposed to be shadowing him—where was Lee?

The whistle blew, signaling something was wrong. When Naruto spun around to see what had happened, the adrenaline which had been pumping through him ran cold and pooled like lead in his stomach. Lee was on the ground clutching his ankle, his face twisted in pain.

With Lee out of commission, Konoha Preparatory’s soccer team lost their fourth game of the season.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case timeline wasn't clear: First day of school was on a Monday. Tryouts are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students are allowed to either stay in the dorms or go home on the weekends.
> 
> Are ya feeling them Chuunin exam parallels? Are you getting slapped upside the head with them hard enough? CAN YOU FEEL THEM MR KRABS
> 
> More Naruto and Sasuke interaction next chapter, sorry this one was really plot heavy—but what's a slowburn without some plot amirite


	3. Keep Your Rivals Close and Your Mutual Enemies Closer

Sasuke was scowling even more so than usual. Normally such obvious irritation was a clear signal to others to stay the fuck away, unless they wanted a verbal lashing. He was purposely broadcasting a mood which indicated he did not want to be bothered. Even Sakura hadn’t said a word to him.

Naruto, with his lack of common sense, was undeterred. Gym class was dragging on longer than normal because of it.

“I don’t get why yer in such a pissy mood,” Naruto drawled, casually dribbling the basketball in his hand. “Lee’s going to be well enough to join practice tomorrow, ya haven’t failed any tests, and Sakura’s still in love with you—bless her soul. You’ve got everything a high school boy could want.”

“Would it kill you to shut up for once in your life?” Sasuke glowered. He stole the basketball from Naruto and aimed it perfectly into the hoop—nothing but net. It swished innocently into the basket and bounced a few times before Naruto caught it again.

“I mean, it might kill me to shut up,” Naruto mused. “Never tried it though.”

“Well, maybe you should try it now.” Sasuke tossed another basketball into the hoop.

“I’ll try it when you finally tell me what’s going on.”

“What’s the point of me telling you? It’s none of your business.”

“Woah woah—I think you’re misunderstanding something,” Naruto interjected. “This isn’t for _my sake_ —it's for _yours_ , Sasuke. My pa always says it's not good to bottle things up, and that talking about it makes it better.”

“Is your father a psychiatrist?”

“Naw, he’s a corn farmer.”

“Then I don’t think he has the proper credentials to tell me what to do.” Sasuke made another shot which missed and bounced off the headboard. He grimaced. Naruto was putting him off his game.

As if to prove that notion correct, Naruto took a running start and dunked the rebounded basketball into the hoop so forcefully that the structure shook. Coach Gai saw the obvious show of strength and gave Naruto a bright grin and two thumbs up.

The unfairness of the situation only served to piss Sasuke off more. He glowered in the corner of the court as Naruto continued to make shots. Every single one of them went in, as if to mock Sasuke for his own failures. There was a point however, when Naruto suddenly stopped mid throw, and stared contemplatively at Sasuke. The basketball in his hands dropped feebly to the floor. “Oh,” he said. Then, he gave Sasuke a shit-eating grin. “Ohhhhhhhh.”

Sasuke knew before he opened his mouth that he wouldn’t like what Naruto had to say.

“It’s because Sakura didn’t ask you to homecoming right?” Naruto said gleefully. “You don’t have a date?”

Sasuke had never felt the urge to strangle someone as much as he did in that moment.

Naruto took his silence as affirmation and proceeded to laugh his ass off. “I knew it! Mr. Popular doesn’t have a date—what a loser!” he crowed. “Hey, that means I can ask Sakura right? You won’t be mad?”

Sasuke’s voice carried the threat of death when he responded. “First off, I’m already mad. Secondly, I don’t give two shits about homecoming, so ask who you want. And finally, I’m not upset because of a fucking dance, you idiot!”

“Then spit it out. What’s got your panties up in a twist this time?”

What had Sasuke’s panties in a twist was none other than the captain of the american football team. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about it because he didn’t need his team worrying about things that they didn’t have the authority to control. Sasuke thought he could handle it himself, however the situation was growing hairier and hairier and his options were growing thin.

Sasuke had hoped to keep the entire drama a secret. But of course, Naruto was an unconventional, nosy loser with no respect for social cues, and Sasuke was just so annoyed at the situation that he gave up.

“Fine,” he snapped. “I’m pissed off because the captain of the american football team is being a giant asswipe. He’s claiming that _his team_ needs more field time because the days are getting shorter and they have a bigger shot at their championships than we do. If he gets more field time, we get less. Worst is, the higher ups are going to take his side because his family donates more money to this school than mine does.”

It was rare that Naruto was rendered speechless. Sasuke waited for the gears to finish turning in his head.

“Fuck,” said Naruto. “So we’re going to have even less time to practice? That’s bullshit.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve already talked to Coach Kakashi,” grumbled Sasuke. “But he can’t do anything either. The football captain’s ties to the school run too deep.”

“Have you tried talking to the guy? Maybe if we ask nicely, he’ll let us have field time.”

“Gee, I hadn’t thought of that,” Sasuke said sarcastically. “Maybe after he lets us use the field, we can have a picnic together on it.”

Naruto shrugged and picked his basketball off the floor, dribbling it casually. “I mean, it’s worth a try. Guy’s gotta have a heart right?”

Yeah, thought Sasuke, Maybe buried deep inside the oil wells the bastard’s family owned. The football captain— _Digby_ —clearly knew where he sat on the totem pole. There hadn’t been a day of practice where he hadn’t tsked at his watch, waiting for the soccer team to finish practice so his team could take the field. To top it off, he would whisper cajolingly at Sasuke, “Don’t worry, we’ll get the football trophy so Konoha Prep has _something_ to brag about.”

Sasuke had refrained from decking him so many times. The guy was as dumb as a bag of bricks. He could lose a couple of brain cells and it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Let’s talk to him after practice today,” said Naruto. “I’ll go with you.”

“I really don’t want to. And you shouldn’t either.”

“Ya gotta do it for the team, Sasuke,” Naruto said, making a clean shot into the hoop. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there as backup.”

* * *

Sasuke should have learned by now not to listen to Naruto. The confrontation went worse than planned. Far, far worse.

Practice ended and as the team headed back to the locker room, Naruto and Sasuke stayed behind. Sasuke wasn’t nervous, but he was definitely apprehensive. He didn’t see the conversation going in their favor.

“Is that our guy?” Naruto said, jabbing a finger at the heavyset teenager sauntering towards them.

Sasuke sighed. “That’s the one. His name’s Digby.”

“You mean ‘Dickby’?” Naruto snorted.

Sasuke tried not to laugh. “If you call him that, I guarantee we won’t get more field time. Let’s get this over with, I’m sweaty and need a shower.”

“Hey pipsqueaks!” Digby said once he was face to face with them, “What are you lingering behind for? It’s our team’s turn to use the field. Beat it.”

Sasuke squared his shoulders. He would let Digby’s arrogance slide...for now. “I’m here to ask you a favor,” Sasuke said.

Digby snorted. “Let’s hear it then, Uchiha. What are you asking for?”

Sasuke took a breath. “The team would appreciate it if you kept your practice times the same. As a fellow sports captain, you know we finally have a shot at the championships this year. It would be difficult for us to get the practice we need if your team’s practice time overlaps with ours.”

“That all?”

“Yes.”

“Well then—I see no problem with your request,” said Digby, and Sasuke was so surprised he almost choked on his own spit, “I’m going to be honest that when I thought about extending the football team’s time, I hadn’t put too much thought into the soccer team’s practice. I’ll talk to the coach and we’ll get it sorted.”

Sasuke felt the pressure lift from his shoulders in relief. He had never been so happy that Naruto (and he never thought he would see the day) had been right—Digby did have a heart. “Thank you,” Sasuke said. “I speak on behalf of the team when I say we appreciate it.” He stuck out his hand for Digby to shake.

They stared at one another. For some reason, it felt less like Sasuke was reaching for an agreement, and more like they were two cowboys in some cheesy midwestern movie, about to have a shootout over town rights.

A beat passed. Digby didn’t shake Sasuke’s hand. He didn’t even lift his arm in an _attempt_ to do so. In fact, he looked at Sasuke’s hand like it was the most disgusting piece of trash he’d ever laid eyes on. There was a brief pause as Sasuke and Digby sized each other up, and it was becoming quite clear Digby’s initial statement had been all a ploy—he had never intended on asking his coach to help Sasuke at all. The balloon in Sasuke’s chest, which had been filled with some naive hope, began rapidly deflating.

Digby’s next words cemented Sasuke’s suspicions. “Put that thing away, _Uchiha_ ,” he sneered. “I’m not touching your filthy hand. I can’t believe you were dumb enough to actually believe me—and they say you’re one of the smartest kids in our grade.” He laughed and crossed his arms, muscles bulging like he was trying to compensate for lack of intelligence. “Surprise, stupid—! Nothing’s going to change. I’ll cut into your field time as much as I want. But don’t worry, there’s always the equestrian stables; you can use that area if you’d like. Probably better for you, actually.”

Sasuke took a deep breath to calm himself. Digby was trying to rile him up so he would do something rash, and then Digby’s proposal would make even more sense to the school heads. He couldn’t afford to stoop to his level or it would reflect badly on his team. Sasuke’s hand was still extended in peace offering to the other captain. He pursed his lips. “Please reconsider.”

Digby made a show of pretending to think. Sasuke didn’t know if Digby could actually think if he tried. “Hmmmmm...I don’t think so. Oh wait—I’vethought of something!” His smirk turned sinister. “You’ve been acting so high and mighty ever since you got here, it’s about time I knocked you down a peg.” He smugly stuck a foot out. “Why don’t you lick my boots, Uchiha, and beg for the field usage? Do that, and I’ll reconsider.”

Ordinarily, Sasuke would have used something—his connections, his words—to put someone like Digby in his place and worry about the repercussions later. But this time, his opponent was holding something of Sasuke’s at stake which actually mattered, and additionally, had enough force behind him to make due on his promise. Sasuke weighed his options. How badly did he want to win the Land of Fire championship cup? Did he want it badly enough to subject himself to humiliation?

The answer came instantaneously. If it was for the championship and for his team, he would do anything.

Sasuke steeled his nerves and met Digby’s small, watery eyes with his own. He made sure his stare was cold and hard. “Fine. I’ll lick your shitty-ass shoes. You’d better promise though, on your family name, that you won’t cut into our practice time.”

“Yeah Uchiha, you got it,” Digby sneered. “So, you going to do it or what? Going to save your precious team members by putting your high-class honor on the line?”

Sasuke slowly knelt on the grass. Naruto was watching him, he was sure, but he refused to look at him. Disgrace welled in the pit of his stomach. If Itachi found out he was about to lick some pig’s shoes for the sake of a few minutes of practice time, he would have a fit. Sasuke was close to having a fit himself. From above, Digby’s astonished laughter rang out. “Oh shit—! You’re really doing it, aren’t you? Hey boys—come and take a picture! Uchiha’s about to lick my boots!”

He heard the footsteps of a few football team members who were evidently eager to see him groveling at the feet of their great leader. Sasuke ignored them—if he thought about it any longer he was going to chicken out.

Sasuke hadn't noticed what Digby was wearing before and it was a good thing he hadn’t—because if he did, he would have just kicked the man in the nuts and called it a day, practice and detention be damned. But it was too late now to back out. Sasuke scrunched up his nose. Digby’s boots were shiny patent leather loafers that had no place on a sports field. To make matters worse, they were brown. The mere thought of putting his face near them filled him with distaste.

But, Sasuke was a man of his word, so he swallowed his pride and leaned down. If he was going to do it, he was going to do it quickly. He loathed to be on his knees in front of Digby longer than he had to.

His nose was about to touch Digby’s shoes when he was stopped by someone who had a death grip on his sleeve.

It was Naruto.

He had been so focused on ignoring his surroundings he had forgotten his teammate was there. When Sasuke spared a glance at him, he saw Naruto’s regularly goofy expression contorted in anger. His breathing was heavy, and the hand grabbing Sasuke’s sleeve was clenched like he was using all of his self restraint to avoid beating the living shit out of someone. Sasuke would stake his entire fortune on that someone being none other than Digby.

Naruto was furious.

“Don’t you dare give in to a guy like him, Sasuke.” Naruto grit out.

“What are you stopping him for?” Digby mocked. “He wants to do this for you and the team. You’re taking one of his finest achievements away from him.”

“You’re being unreasonable!”

“Me? Unreasonable? Uchiha’s been the unreasonable one by acting like he can win the championship. You lost the match against Suna. You haven’t even gotten to the quarterfinals in the past two years—! The school’s resources should be given to students that actually have a chance!” yelled Digby. “You and your team are _shit_!”

Sasuke felt something wet land on his forehead. It took him a split second to realize what had happened. Digby had spit on him.

Sasuke saw red. He was up in a flash, about to aim a hard fist right into Digby’s nose, but Naruto beat him to it. His teammate smashed his knuckles into Digby’s face so hard Sasuke swore a tooth flew out of Digby’s mouth.

“Don’t rag on my cap,” said Naruto, not looking the least bit remorseful. “Only _I’m_ allowed to do that. Dickby, you’d better prepare yourself and give your heart to Jesus, ‘cause I’m coming for your _ass_.”

If anyone asked who would win in a fist fight between two lone members of the soccer team or several burly members of the football team, most would have put their bets on the latter. They would have been grossly mistaken. Naruto and Sasuke worked as well during a fight as they did on the soccer field. They didn’t care if they fought dirty—they yanked on shirt collars, aimed kicks to the groin, and in Naruto’s case, clamped teeth down on arms. They also may have broken a few noses and given their opponents some well-deserved black eyes. The scuffle was eventually broken up by a very angry Coach Kakashi and an equally angry Coach Gai. The football coach had mysteriously avoided all responsibility.

Although Naruto and Sasuke didn’t escape uninjured—their busted lips were testament to that—their opponents were significantly worse for wear.

As they sat in the hallway outside of Tsunade’s office holding bags of ice to their faces, Naruto commented, “That was fun. Punching his face was totally worth it. What a grade-A hogmilker. Can’t believe he spit on you.”

“Agreed that the spitting was unexpected,” replied Sasuke. “Almost as unexpected as us ending up in Tsunade’s office...again.”

“Naw, I had a feeling it was going to end up this way since I wanted to beat Dickby’s ass the second I saw his fat mug,” said Naruto.

“Well, if I couldn’t hold myself back, you had no chance,” said Sasuke.

A dark haired woman ushered them into the Principal’s office. When they entered, Sasuke couldn’t tell if the stiffness in Tsunade’s posture was fury or something else. She rested her chin in her hands, the only movement coming from her eyes as she watched Naruto and Sasuke take a seat. Sasuke was unfortunately becoming quite familiar with her office.

“So,” she said once enough time had passed in silence, “You two troublemakers got into another fight. If I recall correctly, the last time you were in here I promised if you showed up again I would consider suspension. I’ve given both of you enough chances, so I hope you have a good explanation for your actions.”

“Digby was being unreasonable,” Naruto started. “He wanted to cut the soccer team’s practice time, so Sasuke went to talk to him about it. And then, Digby promised he would give us our time back, if Sasuke—if—if Sasuke—” he stuttered over his words like he couldn’t bring himself to say what Sasuke had been willing to do.

“If I licked his shoes,” finished Sasuke. “And then he spit on me when I tried. At that point I wasn’t going to let that kind of action pass, so I retaliated. Naruto jumped in to help me since I was outnumbered and the football team was about to beat me up.”

It wasn’t exactly a true retelling of what had happened, but Sasuke’s version of the story was payback for Naruto sticking up for him.

Tsunade shifted her gaze to Naruto. “Why didn’t let you let the coaches handle it?”

“Coach Kakashi tried, but the football coach was uncooperative,” said Naruto smoothly. “We were hoping if we asked Digby, he would put in a good word for us. Didn’t quite work out.”

Sasuke gave Naruto a mental high five. It was as good of an answer as any.

“I see,” said Tsunade. “Let’s backtrack then. Mr. Digby threatened to remove your field time if Sasuke did not lick his shoes?”

“Yes.”

“And he spit on Sasuke?”

“That is correct.”

“And so you punched him?”

“Regrettably.”

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. Her glare softened slightly. “I can’t say I’m proud of the actions you took, but it appears they weren’t unprovoked. I’ll ask Mr. Digby for his side of the story before I decide anything else. You are still allowed to attend your classes and go to practice for the time being. You’re dismissed. Now leave.”

Naruto and Sasuke stood up quickly, bowed in respect, and then bolted for the door.

“What do you think our team is gonna say about our victory?” laughed Naruto as they sprinted back to the dorms.

“It’s not a victory yet since Tsunade hasn’t reached a decision,” said Sasuke. “But as for our team, they’ll probably ask why they weren’t invited to the Dickby-pummeling party.”

* * *

By the next day, the story had evolved into Naruto and Sasuke beating the shit out of the entire football team (they had only taken on five or six of them—but that was a minor detail). The girlfriends of said football players were not amused, and kept shooting them nasty looks over the dining hall tables. Kiba thought it was hilarious. Sasuke’s head was still sporting a large bruise, and Naruto’s left cheek was swelling, but they had been patched up in the nurse’s office for the most part.

“Man, I can’t believe you got out of that with only a couple of bruises,” Kiba cheered. “Wish you would have told us though—that guy’s a total shithead. More like Dickby, am I right?”

Naruto gave him a fist bump.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “If the coaches hadn’t interrupted us, we probably could have taken the rest of them too.”

“And the best part is that Dickby got suspended this morning,” said Naruto wistfully. “They say when he was pulled out of class, he looked like he was about to piss his pants. I wish I had been there.”

“Wonder what kind of connections the principal has to get a guy like Digby suspended,” said Neji.

“She’s one of the most influential people in the country—I wouldn't be surprised at all if her connections ran through a black market or something. Regardless, she took our side, and all’s well that ends well,” said Sasuke.

“C’mon—you can say it,” said Naruto. “I think she’s got a soft spot for you an’ me. Maybe those constant visits to her office made her like us.” He grinned and slung an arm around Sasuke. And Sasuke, for some reason, didn’t shrug it off like he used to.

Maybe having Naruto around wasn’t so bad.

“Who’d like a loser like you?” scoffed Sasuke.

“Hey, you’re the one who lied in front of Tsunade to cover for me! Don’t tell me that you’d do that for someone you don't like,” said Naruto.

“It was merely payback for the shot you landed on Digby.”

Naruto grinned. “Well, he did spit on you an’ all. Couldn’t let the bastard get away with disrespecting my captain.”

Naruto’s words made something warm flicker in Sasuke’s chest. His heart rate sped up slightly. He played it off like nothing was wrong though because _what the fuck was that_ and said, “Your stupid sense of justice worked out in this case. Congratulations.”

Naruto squawked. “It’s not stupid! You’re stupid!”

“It’s kind of stupid.”

Naruto still hadn’t removed his arm from his shoulder.

Lee’s eyes were glimmering with tears. “Both of you have such inspiring youthfulness! I couldn’t have asked for better teammates,” he bawled, crushing those within reach into a tight hug, “I _cannot wait_ to rejoin practice with you today! My spirit’s passion is burning brighter than any flame!”

Sasuke winced and tried to wriggle free from the hug. “It’s good to have you back, Lee. Take it easy though. We can think ab—”

“—WILL YOU GO TO HOMECOMING WITH ME, MY LOVE?”

Their conversation about Digby was diverted by a large declaration of teenage romance. Sasuke turned around. A male student was on one knee, holding a massive sign and an extravagant bouquet of flowers. The target of his affections, a girl who looked like she had gone for one too many plastic surgeries, giggled and yelled “Yes!” and jumped into his arms. They then proceeded to messily make out with one another as their friends cheered in the background.

Sasuke felt like he was watching some sort of Satanic ritual. “Homecoming proposals are the worst.”

“You’re just jealous,” said Naruto.

“Why would I be jealous of something like that?”

“Because no one’s asked ya yet, ya turd.”

Sasuke didn’t bother correcting him. He had no interest in such superficial affairs like homecoming, but that didn’t mean other people weren’t interested in having an Uchiha family member as their date. He could have made a chart of girls who had asked him out over the past few weeks, and an equally impressive chart of rejections. First, it had been Sakura who passed him a note in class. He had turned her down as politely as possible. Then came the cheerleading captain, Ino, who slyly slipped a card in his locker. He turned her down too. And then another. And then another.

None of them had the guts to ask him to his face.

Homecoming at Konoha Preparatory was one of two times during the school year when the students could flaunt their wealth. The school faculty would open up the grand ballroom, dust off the gaudy chandeliers, hire some five star catering, and let the future business executives and heiresses mingle. The girls would dress like they were headed down the red carpet, wearing jewelry so expensive it equaled the salary of an average businessman. The boys would ogle after the girls.

It was a fancy networking event disguised as a dance. Sasuke did enough networking in class. He didn’t need to attend a lavish event to further his relationships.

“Are you kidding me, Naruto? All the girls are asking Sasuke, he’s a hot commodity,” said Kiba. “You should worry more about yourself. Are you going? Gonna ask a cute girl?”

“Well, I tried, but Sakura turned me down already...twice,” said Naruto. “Haven’t really thought about going with anyone else. I suppose I’ll go with anyone who asks me.”

“Naruto, your bar is set way too low. Don’t worry my friend, I’ve got your back. There’s a girl in my Calculus class who’s been asking about you nonstop—I can vouch that she is _very_ cute.” And just like that, the topic of Digby disappeared, and Kiba spent the remainder of their lunch period hyping up Naruto’s expectations for the mystery girl. Sasuke moodily picked at his food.

The girl turned out to be Hinata, Neji’s cousin and heiress to the Hyuuga Medical Corporation. She had been a frequent visitor to both their practices and games, and had apparently latched onto a person who was her exact opposite: an energetic, loud, blonde, male. He couldn’t understand the appeal—sure, Naruto wasn’t _terrible_ in the looks department, and was also _not terrible_ at soccer, but that’s all there was to it...right? Sasuke watched as she met up with Naruto after practice and handed him an elaborately wrapped box as red as her face.

“F-for you,” she stammered at the ground. “Would p-please be my homecoming d-date?”

Well, at least her stutter had gotten better, thought Sasuke.

Naruto looked pleased. Sasuke observed the exchange as Naruto accepted the gift and Hinata’s homecoming proposal.

“You sure you’re not going to the dance?” drawled Shikamaru on the sidelines. “You still have a week, you could easily find someone to go with you.”

“I haven’t gone to a single school dance yet, and I don’t plan on starting the trend now,” said Sasuke.

His friend shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

* * *

For once in his life Sasuke wished he went to homecoming, if only to knock his friends out one by one. Kiba and Lee were sending him nonstop photos and videos of them having a good time, which was very much unappreciated considering Sasuke wasn’t there to experience any of it. He opened their latest message—a video of Lee gorging on chocolate covered strawberries and swinging a very scared looking girl on his left arm—and pursed his lips.

The boasting was getting out of hand. Even Neji and Shikamaru, though they were less frequent participants in the photo opportunities, looked like they were enjoying themselves. Sasuke’s phone buzzed and another picture entered the group chat, this time a flash photo of Naruto in a sharp tux dancing closely with Hinata. Sasuke promptly turned off his notifications.

He buried his nose in his latest book, feeling unusually grumpy that he was in the dorms while the rest of his friends were partying, even though he had brought it upon himself. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t constantly rubbing it in his face. His phone, now silenced, sat enticingly on his comforter, practically begging to be looked at.

Sasuke adamantly avoided picking it up and continued to read.

He was halfway through his novel when someone started banging on his door. The noise was jarring and unexpected—homecoming ended at midnight and it was barely ten. Sasuke didn’t want any visitors. He looked through the peephole.

“Open the door, I know you’re in there,” said Naruto loudly. He was still dressed in his tux and was holding something behind his back.

Sasuke let him in. “What are you doing here?”

“Got bored, so I left. Decided to keep a certain _someone_ company, because you’re the only person in this school even more bored than I was at that snooty party. So here I am. Tah-dah!” Naruto pulled out a bottle of wine from behind his back.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “You never cease to surprise me. Where did you get that?”

“Stole it from my pa and smuggled it in here,” said Naruto proudly. “Had to keep it wrapped in my sweatpants for a couple of weeks during room inspection, but totally worth it. And I brought a wine opener too—! One of my finer moments.”

“We’re underage,” said Sasuke.

“Like that’s stopped you before,” Naruto scoffed.

Sasuke gave up his argument and went to get a couple mugs from his desk. If Naruto was offering him free alcohol, he was going to take it.

“This is the most piss-poor wine presentation I’ve ever witnessed,” said Sasuke as Naruto expertly uncorked the bottle and poured them both half a mug. “My grandparents would be rolling in their graves right now. How often do you do this?”

“Definitely more times than you’d guess,” said Naruto. He raised his cup. “Cheers.”

Sasuke clinked his cup against his. “Cheers.”

The wine was bitter and not tasty at all, but he drank it if only to prove to Naruto that he could.

“You didn’t sip it. Not bad,” his drinking partner commented. “I remember when I had wine for the first time—this shit’s disgusting when you’re not used to it.”

“It's because I’m used to it,” said Sasuke, taking another gulp.

“Oh? Mr. Rule-follower has done some drinking already? I thought we were _underage_?”

“Like you said—never stopped me before.”

“Oho?” said Naruto, and Sasuke knew he was being challenged again.

He didn’t mind.

They drank together till the wine bottle was almost empty. Sasuke sat on his bed beside Naruto, swaying back and forth, his bones like jell-o. His face felt hot. Naruto wasn’t unaffected by the alcohol either, he laughed at everything Sasuke said, even if it wasn’t intended to be funny. Midway through their fourth cup, Naruto took off his jacket and bowtie.

Sasuke’s smiles were coming a lot easier now that he was drunk. “Didn’t think you owned a tux,” he said.

“Piss off,” said Naruto. “I am a _bona fide gentleman_. We corn farmers frequently attend...corn growing parties...aw fuck it, my pa heard I had a date and we went to the store. It's probably the fanciest item of clothing I own other than our stupid uniforms.”

“Doesn’t look bad,” Sasuke said. “Better than your orange pj’s for sure.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that last bit. But really, ya think my tux looks alright?”

“That’s what I said. Or are you going deaf?”

“Sheesh, forget me thanking you for the compliment. I was just gonna say it means a lot, ‘specially coming from you.”

Sasuke grinned into his cup. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean,” said Naruto, “That you’re a rich asshole who gives out compliments about as often as a miser donates to church. But aside from that, it means a lot because…” He paused. “Because...I respect you. Your soccer skills are amazing. And you’re good at school. And all the girls think you’re good looking. You ain’t my rival for nothing.” He stared at Sasuke, radiating confidence and honesty. “So it means a lot when I’m trying my best to fit into this hoity-toity school, and you accept me for me—country shit an’ all.”

Sasuke was stunned into silence. Naruto was still staring at him with that same open expression, eyes bright and blue under his dorm lights. Sasuke’s mouth suddenly felt like the Sahara. He licked his lips. Was his mouth dry because he’d been drinking alcohol? Or was it dry because he had forgotten how to swallow? Or was it dry because Naruto’s sincerity had sucked the breath from his lungs?

Sasuke thought a lot about how to respond as he waded through muddled thoughts. He finally decided on something simple. “We’re friends aren’t we? And friends accept one another. Even if said friend comes from a family of corn farmers.” He couldn't think of anything else to say so he downed the rest of his drink.

Naruto laughed. “Hell yeah, we’re friends!” His knee nudged Sasuke’s as he reached for the wine bottle and the heat from the wine licked at Sasuke’s heart. “So let’s have one last glass together—finish off the rest of this booze, then hide the evidence.”

Sasuke’s mug was filled again. Naruto forewent his mug and chose to drink directly from the bottle.

“To friends,” Naruto declared, tapping the bottle against Sasuke’s cup.

“To friends,” Sasuke echoed, taking a swig.

Later that night as he lay in bed with Naruto’s snores echoing from the room next door, an odd thought crossed Sasuke’s mind. He had other friends; Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, Kiba—but none of them were quite like Naruto. Had he ever met anyone like Naruto before? He mulled over it for a bit before concluding that no, Naruto was different from everyone else—he saw Sasuke as he was, beyond his wealth, beyond his family name, beyond everything he had built up. And for some strange, inexplicable reason, Sasuke was happy about that.

Perhaps he would go to homecoming next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Protective Naruto is my aesthetic. Literally googled "fancy rich boy names" and Digby was just so perfect I couldn't resist lmao
> 
> Slow burn's starting to get a wee bit toasty now...


	4. The Party Ain’t Over Till I Find a Partner, God Dammit

Ever since Sasuke had drunkenly told Naruto that they were friends, Naruto had been on cloud nine. Sasuke was nice to him—well, as nice as Sasuke could be, barring their regular insults with one another—which made their teamwork even stronger, a feat Naruto hadn’t thought possible. And, with Lee fully recovered and back on the team, they had officially returned to full power.

The icing on the cake was their match history. Week after week, the Konoha Preparatory soccer team continued to win their games by a landslide. Of course, it hadn’t just been Naruto and Sasuke pulling the weight, the rest of the team had _definitely_ helped—but there was something about running on the field with the ball between his feet, blindly trusting that Sasuke would be there and Sasuke _actually_ being there, that made Naruto feel ridiculously elated. It was like their team was on the rebound after their defeat against Suna—Konoha Prep was back in the game, and better than ever.

It was a shame that soccer was a fall sport, thought Naruto, because the colder the weather got, the closer the season was to ending. And that meant he would soon have to find another reason to spend more time with his friends.

As autumn turned into the cusp of winter, Konoha Prep won their quarterfinal game and qualified for the Land of Fire championship semifinals. Game day was remarkably frigid. Naruto swaddled himself in his scarves and hat, teeth chattering as they huddled together ahead of the game. Their team was bracketed against Kiri Hall. The victor would likely play against Suna Academy for the championship title. Naruto was a bundle of nerves.

Neji gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “It will be fine,” he said calmly.

“Easy for you to say, you’re always cool as a cucumber,” whispered Naruto.

Coach Kakashi gave Sasuke a nod, indicating that their time was short before the quarterfinals started. Sasuke turned to address the team. “We have a big match ahead of us today. I know many of us, myself included, are feeling pressure to perform well. But I want you all to remember that we’re on this field today because we share the same love for this sport. We’ve poured hours into the team, and we’ve dedicated even more time to improving ourselves...”

He paused in his speech to take a breath, and Naruto swore he looked right at him, “...And,” Sasuke finished quietly, “No matter what happens out there, I’m proud of all of us. Let’s kick some ass.”

With that said, Konoha Preparatory’s soccer team took to the field.

* * *

Sasuke’s last kick sealed the deal—his shot sent the soccer ball slamming into Kiri’s goalie’s net, and Naruto knew it was over. But he waited until the decision was certain, until the instant the referee whistled to secure their win, and when it did, he sprinted to Sasuke who was looking at the scoreboard like he couldn’t believe it. Sasuke let out a puff of breath that mingled with the frosty air, and then he was laughing—really, truly laughing, and Naruto tackled him to the ground, laughing with him. Sasuke’s cheeks were hot and cold against his. The rest of the team joined in on dogpiling their captain who had brought them their greatest victory to date. Konoha Preparatory had officially made it to the Land of Fire championship finals.

As soon as they got back to campus, people were clapping Naruto on the shoulders and pulling him into hugs. It was like one big welcome party. Sakura ruffled his hair and said, “I was watching. You did great out there.” Hinata, in a bold maneuver, clasped Naruto’s hands in hers and said without stuttering, “I’ll be at the championship match, cheering for you. I know you’ll win.” And even Ino, who Naruto staunchly believed hated him, flipped her ponytail and said, “You weren’t bad, I suppose.”

They were the talk of the school. Tsunade announced over the intercom how pleased she was about their victory. Naruto had never been happier in his life. But deep down, under all of his teammates’ praise and well-wishes, he knew they couldn’t relax. There was a greater enemy looming in the distance. Just as they had won their match, Suna Academy had won theirs.

Their final battle against the one team they still hadn’t beaten would be with the championship trophy on the line.

Coach Kakashi, who was more involved than he had been all season now that the team was in a pivotal spot to actually win the championships, focused his attention on strategy. He and Shikamaru spent most of practice poring over diagrams to which they would later explain to the rest of the team. That left Sasuke in charge of running the physical part of practice.

Naruto knew it before but now it was even more obvious in Coach Kakashi’s absence—Sasuke was born to be a leader. He was capable. He cared for his team, would give pointers if asked, and would practice one on one with the weaker members. He was reliable, confident, and untouchable.

Naruto was honored to call him his friend.

When the team clamored to extend their practice hours in preparation for their Suna rematch, Sasuke staunchly refused. “I don’t want you to wear yourselves out,” he said. “If you’re exhausted from practicing, and we lose because of it, I’ll kill you.”

There was only so much they could do after all, and the rest was up to fate. Naruto did his best to absorb the information Coach Kakashi and Shikamaru threw at him, and pushed himself to his limits while training with the rest of the team. He returned to the dorms after every practice completely exhausted, only staying up later to finish his homework. And although Naruto didn’t really believe in any higher deity, he knelt in front of his dorm window each night leading up to the match and prayed for their victory.

* * *

The three siblings from Suna hadn’t changed much since the last time Naruto saw them. They were still as intimidating as ever, Gaara especially so. Lee had been quiet since the day leading up to the rematch, the only sign of jitters being his left leg which incessantly bounced up and down.

Lee was probably the most anxious out of all of them. After what had happened to him in the last game against Suna he was probably replaying the injury in his head over and over. Yet, Naruto’s friend looked determinedly forward, observing, lying in wait to show Gaara how much he had changed.

At practice, Lee constantly talked about how passionate his teammates were, but to Naruto, Lee was the most passionate of them all.

And Sasuke, well, Naruto could tell Sasuke had been waiting to make the finals for a long, long time. Sasuke didn’t verbalize any of this of course, calmly sitting on the bench and doing everything as he always did—but Naruto saw right through it. He knew it from the way Sasuke would sometimes get a manic expression on his face when he thought no one was watching; the glint in his eyes flashing like that of a predator waiting to devour its prey, like he was thinking of ripping into his enemy limb by limb.

Each time Naruto caught Sasuke with that look, giddiness seeped through his bones—and he wanted nothing more than to play soccer with this dangerous version of his team captain until the sky turned dark.

The Konoha Preparatory team entered the finals with fresh new jerseys and the icy winter wind against their backs. The chill whipped around them, sharp and biting. The cheers from the crowd were deafening. It was their largest spectate yet: people filled every seat in the stadium, yelling and hollering and waving their hands. There was a section dedicated just to Konoha Prep where the viewers were fully decked out in their school colors of red and white. Naruto tried looking for Iruka in the crowd, but it was impossible, the lights were too bright and everyone blurred together.

Sasuke called them all for one last speech. “I’ll keep this short,” he said, “Because I already said everything I wanted to say during the match against Kiri Hall. All that’s left is to show Suna that we’re not letting a repeat of our last game against them happen this time. Let’s kill their offense, kill their defense, and win this shit.”

They stacked their hands together in a silent huddle because Sasuke was right, there was nothing more that needed to be said—then broke away to take their positions. Naruto inhaled a deep breath and let the frigid air fill his lungs. The tension was palpable, the cheers from the stadium dying away as everyone sat on the edges of their seats, watching the two captains of Konoha and Suna greet each other.

“Good luck,” Sasuke said to Gaara.

“Likewise,” Gaara replied.

The referee flipped the coin. Konoha won the toss, so Suna took the kickoff. The instant Kankuro’s foot made contact with the ball, Naruto saw the predatory look on Sasuke’s face again: a slight smile exposing the sharpness of his canines, and Naruto’s blood turned to fire in his veins—there was no way Konoha was going to lose this game—Sasuke was going to bring the victory home.

Suna Academy hadn’t underestimated Konoha Prep’s team. They launched themselves into the match with the force of an army, but Konoha had spent all season preparing for this moment, and they weren’t about to let Suna get the better of them.

Kiba stole the ball and passed it to Shikamaru who launched it at Naruto—Naruto’s feet thudded against the frozen grass, flicking the soccer ball up as someone from the other team stuck a cleat out to steal it—

—Then Gaara was running to intercept him, but Lee was following him closely—Naruto shot the ball to Lee who received it with ease—

—And then Lee was a blur on the field, he had always been the fastest of their team members— the look on Gaara’s face would have been funny if the game wasn’t so pivotal—

—And finally Sasuke had the ball, and their run was over—his aim was perfect, it always was, and the enemy goalie didn’t stand a chance.

Naruto spun around and sure enough, the scoreboard read 1-0. He didn’t have to look at Sasuke to know that they were both thinking the same thing—this was their first point ever against Suna, it was a big fucking deal—but they didn’t have time to celebrate. They needed all the time they could get to score as many goals as possible. Sasuke picked up the ball and brought it back to the center, and then kicked it off again.

* * *

Naruto didn’t understand what he had done to deserve such amazing teammates. If someone had told him a year ago that he would play in the Land of Fire championship finals, and with a capable team nonetheless, he would have told them to go suck a cow tit.

His teammates were nothing short of incredible. To hold their own against Suna was a feat in and of itself. Each and every one of them was pushed to their utmost limits, straining their bodies and their lungs and their hearts beyond anything they had done before. Neji was like an all-seeing eye, blocking shots from even his blind spots. Lee and Kiba’s endurance outpaced their opponents as they slowly started breaking down Suna’s defenses. Sasuke and Naruto attempted to score every chance they got.

But their enemies were no pushovers, they wanted the championship just as much as Konoha did. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro applied new tactics and tough formations that had Konoha Prep running left and right—but such developments were all within expectations. Shikamaru had prepared them well. With neither team giving the other any space to relax, the match quickly became a showdown of intelligence and a wills. And, while Naruto wasn’t probably the best judge of intelligence, he recognized that between Suna and Konoha, Konoha had the better brains.

After all, Shikamaru was probably the smartest guy he had ever met. Hell, Shikamaru was probably smarter than the entirety of the Konoha Prep team and Suna Academy team, _combined_.

But, Shikamaru’s brilliance was founded on the basis that his team would understand, that they would pick up on his hints, and that they were dependable chess pieces. Naruto didn’t intend on letting him down on any of those fronts—so when Shikamaru passed the ball to him again, he assessed the players’ positions and reacted accordingly. He sprinted across the field, Suna’s defense unwittingly opening in front of him—by the time they realized what he was trying to do, it was too late. Naruto faked a pass, made a sharp angled turn, and kicked the soccer ball squarely into the goal.

The cheers were deafening. Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead with his jersey, heart palpitating out of control. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. Holy shit, he had just scored a goal against Suna Academy in a championship game— _holy shit_ — _fucking hot butter on a freshly baked biscuit—_

Sasuke ran over to him. “Nice kick,” he said, clapping him on the back. The warmth of his hand grounded him and added further to the heat of Naruto’s body.

Naruto grinned. “Many more where that came from.”

“Don’t celebrate too early idiot, we still have the second half,” Sasuke said, a brief smile flickering over his face. And then he was off, running to take position again. Their brief exchange made Naruto realize why all the girls liked Sasuke so much—he looked nice like that, thought Naruto, when he smiled with his stupid clips in his hair, cheeks red against his pale skin.

* * *

Naruto couldn’t really remember much after that. He recalled a couple moments, like Kiba doing a backflip on the field after Shikamaru scored a surprising goal, and Neji taping his fingers after a particularly nastly dive. But most of his memory was taken up by the moment the referee whistled, signaling the end of the game, and then the feel of Sasuke in his arms as Naruto gave into his instincts and charged at his captain, his rival, _his friend_ , to express himself with actions because words weren’t enough. He hoisted Sasuke up in the air with little effort, the scoreboard glaring a bright red “4-2” in the background.

He thought he had been happy when they won against Kiri Hall, but that was infinitesimal to how happy he was with Sasuke wriggling in his arms and trying to look annoyed but failing miserably.

“Get off, I’m sweaty as fuck,” Sasuke said, but there was no bite to his statement.

Naruto just squeezed him as tight as he could and yelled in his ear, “WE WON!”

Sasuke’s face froze for only a second. Then his eyes twinkled, and his mouth split into a grin. The smile did funny things to Naruto’s stomach. “We did, didn’t we?”

“HELL YEAHHHHHH!” came Kiba’s voice from afar, growing louder and louder until Naruto fell over as had the wind knocked out of him. Kiba had tackled them to the ground so hard it was like he had been hit by a fucking boulder—and he wasn’t the only one. Lee came flying at them shortly after, tears in his eyes.

“I love you guys!” Lee sobbed, wrapping them in a gangly hug like a green armed octopus. “I love you, my precious team members, my youthful friends!”

Shikamaru strolled over and observed their pile of tangled limbs. Then, he knelt beside them and commented wryly, “This was the highlight of my entire school career—I’m never doing anything that takes this much effort ever again.”

And finally Neji, who had the most distance to cover, was running to them, ripping off his goalie gloves, and throwing two strong arms around them. His voice sounded strained as he said a brief “Thank you.” Naruto thought he might have been crying.

There was one more person who deserved credit for taking them to the finish line. Needless to say, Coach Kakashi looked quite surprised when the entire team rushed him like a wave to crush him in the center of a giant group hug. Then, the team celebrated like they’d dreamed back when the championships were just an unattainable fantasy. They ruffled each other's hair, doused themselves in water despite the winter air, and ran around on the field as the stadium erupted in cheers around them. Sasuke was reluctantly lifted onto Lee’s shoulders as they ran a victory lap.

It had taken them three long, grueling seasons, but Konoha Preparatory had finally won the Land of Fire soccer championships.

* * *

That night, as the rest of his team slept peacefully following another round of celebrations, Naruto snuck out of his hotel room and knocked on the door of the only other person that would be awake at that hour.

Surely enough, Sasuke peeked out from the crack in the door. “It’s midnight,” he said.

“I know, so let me in.”

Sasuke did. Naruto kicked his slippers off and flopped on Sasuke’s hotel bed. The sheets were nice and cool against his skin. “So? How ya feeling?” he grinned.

“About what?”

“About our _win_ , ya asshole! Haven’t you been dreaming about this moment since forever? You’ve gotta be feeling something after our glorious victory,” said Naruto.

Sasuke gave him an amused look. “I _suppose_ I’m pretty happy. I didn’t know if I’d ever make it to this point but I guess I must have done something good in my past life to deserve this. Today was the most amazing day of my life.” Sasuke paused, and then focused his gaze on his bedsheets. He mumbled something.

“What?” said Naruto. “Speak up, you’re talking like you got a frog in your mouth.”

The tips of Sasuke’s ears were bright red. “Don’t make me repeat it.”

“Well I didn’t hear you the first time, so try again.”

“...I _said_ ‘thank you’,” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto was confused. “For what?”

“Ha, I should have known you’d respond like that. I guess it’s hard to explain.”

“Then try, dumbass.”

Sasuke snorted. “As much as it pains me to admit it,” he said sarcastically, before his tone turned softer and more genuine, “Without you on the team, I—we wouldn’t have made it. So...thanks, for that I guess.”

“Oi,” said Naruto, suddenly flustered at Sasuke’s unexpected kindness. “Don’t get all sappy on me!”

Sasuke scowled and pushed him playfully on the shoulder. “Fine, forget it. Never thanking you again, makes it easier for me. So, why are you here? Aside from trying to bother me per usual. You didn’t come here for another drinking party, did you?”

“Naw, the wine bottle wouldn’t fit in my suitcase,” Naruto joked. “Just wanted to hang out with my friend, is all.”

“Well, this room has a heated balcony. And the stars look decent enough,” said Sasuke. “If you’re interested, it would be a nice change of scenery.”

Naruto was interested.

They sat together with the lights turned off, wrapped in the comforter they pulled from the hotel bed, staring into the night sky. Although the balcony was indeed heated, it was a bit chilly even with the blanket. But Sasuke was warm, so Naruto pressed himself closer to his friend.

Sasuke’s body heat seared into his side like fiames on coals.

They didn’t say much, nor did they need to. Naruto, perfectly at peace, was content to sit in the silence of their surroundings. The stars were beautiful. There was something about the wild, unknown expanse of the universe that was truly humbling. It made their championship win seem more like a grain of sand in the deserts of time—just a blip on the map of something greater than them both. Something was nagging him, however. He wasn’t very good with his words, so he couldn’t explain the feeling that made his heart beat nervously when Sasuke rested his head on his shoulder. It got worse when Sasuke looked up at him, dark hair contrasting against his pale face and eyes reflecting the white sliver of moonlight.

His friend treated him to a slight smile. “Don’t think too hard, your brain might short circuit,” he teased.

Naruto’s laugh turned out more like a cough. “Rude! I’ll have you know I wasn’t thinking hard about anything!”

“So, like usual then?”

Aw shit, he had walked right into that one. Naruto flicked Sasuke’s arm. “I really hate you sometimes,” he said.

“You don’t mean that.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”

Naruto tried not to look at Sasuke but it was difficult. His hair smelled like hotel shampoo. And he was warm. And, he kept nudging Naruto’s arm every time he teased him, which was somehow unbearable in the way Naruto kind of just wanted Sasuke’s arm to stay there.

They chatted about meaningless things, schoolwork, their classmates, and briefly, about Sasuke’s brother—until Sasuke was nodding off against Naruto’s shoulder, words slurring in his mouth. It was to be expected, they were exhausted both physically and mentally from the game. Naruto however, wished they weren’t so tired that evening because then, he would have gotten to spend more time with Sasuke, talking into the vast darkness of space; just the two of them.

“You should get to bed,” Sasuke mumbled. “It’s late.”

Naruto didn’t know what compelled him to lie. “I accidentally forgot my keycard in my room,” he said, “And I don’t want to go to the front desk to get another one. It’s too far, and I’m lazy.”

“Why am I not surprised?” said Sasuke. “Well, you’re already dressed in those hideous pajamas, so you can sleep here. Bed’s big enough anyways.”

It was the answer Naruto had been hoping for. He followed Sasuke out from the balcony back to the hotel bed, and tossed the comforter back on top of it. Sasuke took the right side of the bed, Naruto took the left. The mattress was so spacious they probably could have fit one more person. He wriggled his toes under the covers as Sasuke set an alarm for the following morning.

“I haven’t had a sleepover in so long,” Naruto whispered.

“Probably because you’re the type of guest that doesn’t shut up even when people are trying to sleep.”

“You don’t know that. I could have been _the best_ sleepover guest.”

“Yeah sure, you’re really proving yourself right now. Don’t steal my blankets,” Sasuke warned before throwing his head on a pillow. “Night, Naruto.”

“Night, Sasuke.”

Sasuke’s breath evened out quickly, so maybe it was only Naruto who laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and willing his heart to calm down, all at once too jittery to fall asleep. Sasuke was just an arm’s length away—close enough to touch, close enough to hold. Not that Naruto wanted to. Not that Naruto was thinking about it. There was something between them which hadn’t been there before—since when had being close to Sasuke made him feel nervous? They had been just two guys, sitting while wrapped in a blanket together, observing the night sky—but wait, wasn’t that something like a date? _Was_ it a date? Did friends do stuff like that together? They totally did, right? Something small and bright stabbed Naruto’s chest like a beam of moonlight. It was warm, like Sasuke had been when he leaned into Naruto’s shoulder, like the way Sasuke had smiled at him when they won, like the way Sasuke’s eyes had crinkled when they looked together at the stars.

But somehow, Sasuke had sparkled more intensely than those twinkling specks light years away. There was something about him. No wonder all those girls constantly chased after him. Naruto, after several months, finally saw the appeal. Just a little bit.

Naruto tried in vain to regulate his breathing. Thoughts like that were dangerous. Thinking about Sasuke like that was dangerous. Maybe sleeping over hadn’t been the best idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo they finally won!! But wait, there are more chapters left, what else could _possibly_ happen!? *acts shocked*
> 
> Also. Sharing a bed.
> 
> Platonically.
> 
> 6 feet apart because they're not gay.
> 
> _Yet._


	5. If You Play with Fire, You’d Better Be Nonflammable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on vacay tomorrow (don't worry, social distancing, staying safe, etc. etc. etc.), so ya'll lucked out and got this chapter early! WOOOOO

The Land of Fire championship trophy was shiny, tastefully elegant, and fit perfectly inside Konoha Preparatory’s display case. Sasuke had taken to passing by it as often as he could between classes even if it was out of the way. For him, seeing the physical representation of his team’s achievement was a big “fuck you” to everyone who doubted they would win, as well as a reminder that it had actually happened—that it hadn’t been a dream.

They had celebrated again when they returned to campus—this time with all their classmates surrounding them. If the teachers knew alcohol was involved, they turned a blind eye. The common rooms were allowed a rare curfew extension and the students gladly took advantage of it. It had been too easy, in hindsight, to let what had happened on victory day happen again—Sasuke and Naruto had both slipped out of the party early to hide in Sasuke’s dorm room where it was quieter and they could think in peace. They had chatted more. Naruto had conveniently fallen asleep in Sasuke’s bed again (though it was more cramped than the last time).

Sasuke surprisingly didn’t mind, especially when Naruto woke up next to him the next morning with his hair jutting out from one side of his head, and then had hurriedly thrown on his coat and dragged Sasuke into the Main Hall to take their first look at the trophy in its rightful spot. It had been gloriously beautiful in the dawn light, shining golden and reflecting not only Sasuke and Naruto’s sleepy faces, but also their friendship.

He was walking by it again when he noticed someone else was staring at it too. Namely, a blonde, rural, teammate of his. The scene evoked a sense of dejavu.

“Isn’t your class in the science building? That’s in the opposite direction from here, moron,” said Sasuke.

Naruto smiled crookedly at him, evidently nonplussed at seeing Sasuke there. “Yeah, but I couldn’t help but want to look at it again.”

Together they stared at the display case and the trophy inside it. Sasuke briefly noticed their reflections on the glass and how he’d never paid too much attention to it, but Naruto was slightly taller than him now.

“Can’t believe it only happened a week ago,” said Naruto. “It’s kind of weird, not having practice. And everyone’s busy at the library studying for finals, so I don’t see you guys as often anymore.”

“We live on the same floor, Naruto.”

“Yeah, I know...I just miss it, I guess.”

Sasuke understood. He missed it too. After months of kicking a soccer ball and thinking only of the final goal, it was strange to have that daily routine removed. “You could always come study with me,” he said, “If you’re looking to spend time with someone on the team.”

“You lonely too, Sasuke?” grinned Naruto, and before Sasuke could respond with a retort, he added, “If we study together, just letting you know you’d have to monitor me _real_ closely. I’m not so good at sticking my nose in a book for hours on end.”

“Fine,” said Sasuke. “I can do that.”

“And I’ll be asking you _plenty_ of questions. Potentially really, stupid dumb ones.”

Sasuke sighed. “I said it’s fine, I offered. I know what I’m getting myself into. I’ve heard enough horror stories about how you are in class.”

Naruto looked happy. “It’s a deal then. Oh, and don’t tell the team we’re studying together—they might want to join, and I kind of like it when it’s just the two of us.” And then Naruto ran off, waving, likely headed to the science building, and Sasuke was rooted to the spot because he realized after Naruto said it that Sasuke liked it when it was just the two of them too.

A twinge rippled through his chest. Sasuke frowned. How unusual. He hoped the cold weather wasn’t making him sick.

He turned on his heel and headed to class, rubbing his ribcage. The pain went away soon enough, and then Sakura showed up when he rounded a corner and he forgot all about it.

“Hey, Sasuke?” she asked, falling into step with him. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Why.” It was more of a statement and less of a question.

“It’s kind of...personal. I know you have class soon, it’ll only take a moment,” she said. “Can we go somewhere else?”

Sasuke glanced at the clock tower—he could spare ten minutes if he was quick about it. He nodded and she led the way to a secluded area in the courtyard under a large oak tree. The weather had chilled significantly, so there was a thin layer of frost on the grass where they stood. Sasuke bundled his scarf closer to his body.

“So?” he asked. “What is it?”

Sakura looked bashfully down at her feet. She was silent for a moment as though she was gathering courage within herself. “I just wanted to tell you how I feel before we got too busy preparing for finals,” she said softly. “Though it's probably already pretty obvious to you how I feel.” She took a breath. “Sasuke, I really, _really_ like you. I’ve liked you pretty much since the first day of school.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything.

“And...I...was wondering, if you liked me back, just even a little bit...if we could date?” her voice got quieter near the end, and Sasuke saw her hands shaking in her mittens. She was nervous.

He did know of course, that Sakura liked him. Anyone with two eyes could see that. What he didn’t understand was why she liked him, when there was already clearly another who liked her more. So, he asked her. “I don’t understand why you didn’t ask the same thing to Naruto. He’s been chasing after you since the semester started. And, for the record, I’m pretty sure he’s already confessed his feelings to you. Multiple times.”

Sakura twisted her hair. “It’s not the same. I don’t like him like that. I don’t like him the way I like you, Sasuke.”

Sasuke still didn’t understand. “Why not? He’s on the soccer team, like me. And he’s a decent player too—a bit annoying and a little dumb, but also honest and kind. Not sure what’s not to like,” said Sasuke. He was irritated. Sakura’s rejection of his friend rubbed him the wrong way.

“I just...he’s not my type. Don’t bring Naruto into this,” said Sakura, voice gaining a flinty edge. “This is about me and my feelings, and no matter what you say, they won’t be invalidated. I don’t like Naruto. I don’t like anyone else. I just like you, Sasuke—so can you just—can you just give me your answer...?”

Sakura’s infatuation far went deeper than Sasuke originally thought. He didn’t know how to respond in a way that would be easy for her; she was still looking eagerly at him like there was a chance her love confession would tug at his heartstrings and he would say yes to her dating proposition. But Sasuke was Sasuke, and he would never let himself be influenced so easily, especially not out of pity.

“I don’t feel for you that way.”

She looked hurt. “Not...even in the slightest bit?”

“No. And I don’t think I ever will.”

Sakura inhaled shakily and rubbed her mittens on the hem of her peacoat. “Okay. Alright, I thought this might happen and I prepared myself for it...it just...hurts a little bit more than I anticipated. You didn’t exactly let me down easy,” she whispered. She made eye contact with him for the first time since they entered the courtyard, and Sasuke could tell she was about to cry.

“Was there anything I would have said that would have made it easier?” Sasuke asked.

“No,” Sakura responded, “Probably not.”

In Sasuke’s mind, that was it. The conversation was over. He gave her a curt nod and then left—he still had class after all—but barely made it a few steps across the courtyard before Sakura called to him again. He turned around and saw the tears that had welled up in her eyes were now running steadily down her face, her nose bright red, mittens clenched at her side. If he had been anyone else, any other male, he would have rushed to her side to comfort her. And maybe in some fairytale setting, he would have returned her affection and they would have lived happily ever. But he wasn’t any other male nor in a fairytale, so he stood there, silently waiting for her to say her piece.

“Is it someone else? Did you turn me down because you like someone else?” she asked, voice cracking.

Sasuke frowned. Her question was uninteresting. “If you liked me so much, you should have been paying attention to that. I don’t like anyone,” he answered.

She pursued her lips together and then yelled, “Well then, I’m not giving up on you! I’m still going to like you, even if you’re a jerk and bad at expressing yourself! I’ll keep liking you, even if you turn me down a million times, or even more than that, until you finally like someone else!”

And just like during the first day Sasuke met her, when she had asked if she could watch their soccer tryouts, Sasuke responded, “Do what you want.”

* * *

“I seriously don’t get it,” said Naruto.

“What’s not to get?” said Sasuke. He copied down a paragraph from the textbook into his notes, simultaneously glancing at Naruto’s notebook— the idiot hadn’t written anything—and sighed. Naruto hadn’t been kidding when he said he needed to be monitored. “What do I need to do in order for you to focus?” Sasuke asked.

“Huh? What? I’m focusing,” said Naruto.

Sasuke wiped his glasses on his shirt. “You’ve been sitting here for thirty minutes and accomplished nothing. You have however, continued to complain to me about all the coursework you don’t understand. What I find funny is that you haven’t put in the slightest bit of effort to study, to even _try_ to understand, which explains a lot about why you _‘seriously don’t get it_.’”

Naruto flopped onto Sasuke’s table. “Forgive me for having a country bumpkin brain,” he grumbled. “Can’t exactly focus in a room full of…” he waved his hand absentmindedly.

“...A room full of what? There’s nothing here,” said Sasuke flatly. “Unless you’re saying you study better surrounded by corn?”

“It’s just so hard,” Naruto whined. “Can you give me a reward or something? Like that one guy and his dogs?”

“Pavlov, Naruto.”

“Whatever. Y’know what I mean. So? Reward?”

“What reward could I possibly give you?”

“Praise,” said Naruto instantly.

Sasuke’s heart lurched and he fought the urge to rub his chest again. Maybe he would take some medicine before bed. “You really are like a dog.”

“All bark and no bite, and your best friend—I’d say your observation is pretty accurate,” Naruto said cheekily.

Sasuke choked. Naruto gave him a strange look as he continued to hack until he caught his breath. “You’re my best friend?” Sasuke asked aloud, not sure if the question was more for Naruto or more for himself.

“I dunno,” Naruto shrugged like he wasn't fazed in the slightest, “Am I?”

“You just said you were.”

“I was making a point about Pavlov’s dogs,” said Naruto. “But just for the record, even if I’m not your best friend, you’re mine.”

Sasuke was grasping at straws because did Naruto mean “you’re mine” as in Sasuke was his best friend, or “you’re mine” as in Sasuke belonged to him somehow? The latter sparked a fire that licked up and down his spine and made his heartstrings pull uncomfortably—but Sasuke paid it no heed because he knew that, logically, Naruto likely meant the former. But that also brought in its fair share of questions, because Sasuke wasn't sure if he’d ever had a best friend before. No, scratch that, he was positive he’d never had a best friend before.

“How do you know we’re best friends?” he said, trying to be nonchalant but there was a wave of something that felt oddly like panic stirring inside his stomach.

Naruto groaned. “Are we seriously doing this right now? I thought you were smart, Sasuke—aw wait, I forgot you’re kind of dumb in the emotional department—” Sasuke pinched his forearm—Naruto winced—“Fuck, that hurt!”

“Tell me,” Sasuke commanded.

Naruto shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and then held up five fingers. “Fine, I’ll explain. In no particular order: One, I brought my only bottle of wine to share with you during homecoming. Two, same brain cells when it comes to soccer. Three, we have sleepovers together. Four, I was pissed as hell when Dickby insulted you so I beat the shit out of him. Five, when I’m with you, I just wanna keep spending time with you, even if we’ve already been hanging out together.”

Naruto’s eyes, like the rest of him, were always honest. So when Sasuke looked at him, he knew he was telling the truth. That didn’t make it any easier for him to figure out what to say next.

He was unexpectedly flustered.

“So?” Naruto asked, “Is that a good enough explanation for you? For me to explain why you’re my best friend? I wouldn’t say or do any of that cheesy shit with anyone else.”

Was it really that easy to be someone’s best friend?

“If that’s the case, then you’re my best friend too,” said Sasuke firmly, willing the conversation to stop soon because if it didn’t, his ears would surely give his embarrassment away. Naruto grinned, obviously pleased— “And as your best friend,” Sasuke continued, “I will make due on my promise to say something nice to you if you focus during our study sessions. Is that a fair compromise?”

“Shake on it,” said Naruto.

They shook on it.

Sasuke wasn’t good at praising people, so he wasn’t sure why Naruto had asked for that as his reward. Sasuke was a man of few words, and of those few words, even fewer were compliments. But, they were best friends, and Sasuke wasn’t one to back down on a promise. So, every so often, he would tell Naruto that his studying wasn’t horrid, and that he had only gotten ten problems wrong instead of twenty. It was the best he could do.

Naruto seemed to be alright with Sasuke’s method of passive-aggressive praise because he didn’t complain about schoolwork again after that.

It became a routine between them, they would eat dinner with the rest of the team, then split up—Neji, Lee, and Kiba to the library, Shikamaru to the common room, and Naruto and Sasuke to Sasuke’s dorm room. If their team members noticed anything odd about the setup they didn’t say anything, and for that Sasuke was grateful.

He didn’t hate studying with Naruto. Sasuke would sometimes grouch and pretend like Naruto was being a nuisance but it was all an act—he enjoyed being close to his best friend. Time passed quickly when they were together which was both a good and bad thing—good because studying went by faster, bad because that meant the hours spent with Naruto ended in the blink of an eye.

And if Naruto’s knee ended up touching his occasionally, maybe that was just an added bonus.

* * *

Sasuke did well on his final exams. Naruto surprised everyone and did well on his too.

“It’s all thanks to Sasuke’s big brain,” he bragged at lunch. “His smartness rubbed off on me.”

“Sasuke, you should have tutored all of us. I still can’t believe _Naruto_ of all people did better than I did,” grumbled Kiba.

“I don’t think Sasuke would have spent his precious time tutoring you,” snorted Naruto, flicking a grain of rice at Kiba. It stuck to his forehead. “Because _you’re_ not his best friend.”

Kiba scowled and whipped his neck around to look at Sasuke, who was tactically staying out of the conversation. “Oi! Since when did you two get close enough to be best friends? We’ve known Sasuke longer, and he’s never called any of us his best friends—hey Sasuke, say something, is Naruto just exaggerating or—”

“—We’re best friends,” said Sasuke cooly.

Naruto beamed.

Sasuke’s stomach was churning again.

Kiba groaned. “You guys suck. Conspiring against me is such a dick move. It’s fine—break starts tomorrow, you two can keep hanging out with each other…”

“Are you upset because we were hanging out without you guys?” Naruto asked.

Kiba instantly got defensive. “So what if I am?” he snapped.

“Bless his heart—he’s actually upset!” crooned Naruto. “Don’t worry Kiba, I’ll hang out with you one on one over break, it’ll be just like old times—”

“—What old times? Fuck, get off me—don’t put your lips near me, you slimy git—”

As Naruto and Kiba continued to grapple with one another, Sasuke stood up fluidly and said, “I’m going to go pack my things. I’ll see you guys later.”

He stalked back to his dorm room, feeling slightly guilty about not giving Naruto and Kiba a proper goodbye. It would be okay, he reassured himself, he was probably going to see them over break at some point. And he had their phone numbers. A meeting could easily be arranged. They could invite the others too—Shikamaru would probably be unable to make it since he usually took vacations with his family, but Lee and Neji would likely have nothing to do, and could join them…

He was getting ahead of himself. He hadn’t even left yet, and he was already making plans.

Sasuke had barely gotten all his clothes into his suitcase when his phone rang. It was Itachi.

“Hello. Are you all packed yet?”

“Just about.”

“Perfect timing, I just got here. I’ll be waiting by the parking lot near the Main Hall. See you.”

Sasuke rolled his shoulders back. His brother was the same as ever.

True to his word, Itachi was waiting in a line of ridiculously expensive cars, casually sticking a gloved hand out the window to catch Sasuke’s attention.

“It’s been a while,” he said as Sasuke slid into the passenger seat.

“I guess,” Sasuke said nonchalantly.

Itachi pulled out of the school and they started the long drive back to their apartment. “I know I already called to congratulate you on winning the Land of Fire championships,” said Itachi, “But I feel like a true congratulations is better given in person. You did well. I’m proud of you, Sasuke. I knew you could do it.”

Sasuke hated that Itachi was able to say gooey things like that without cringing. “It wasn’t too hard,” he managed to say, “We had some new team members who were decent this year.”

“Ah, yes—I streamed a bit of the game at work. Jersey number nine, correct? The two of you made some pretty impressive plays.”

Number nine was Naruto’s number. Had they really stuck out that much?

“He reminds me a bit of the Yellow Flash,” Itachi continued. “It’s in the way that he moves.”

“Naruto moves like molasses,” Sasuke shot back. “He’s nowhere close to Minato.”

Itachi gave him a wan smile. “No need to be jealous, Sasuke.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Okay, you’re not jealous.”

They caught up on the remainder of the drive back, Sasuke informing his brother of all the things that he had forgotten to communicate through text or during their weekly calls. Itachi was a good listener, probably because Sasuke had never talked about his school life that much, so any details were good details.

“You’re in a good mood,” Itachi commented. “Usually when I pick you up I have to pry all this information out of you.”

Sasuke sulked and looked out the window. “Not true.”

Itachi continued like he hadn’t heard him. “Is it because of your friend, jersey number nine? You’ve been talking about him a lot in your stories.” He pulled into the garage below their apartment complex.

“His name is Naruto, not ‘jersey number nine.’”

“Interesting. You called me out on not using his name—you haven't stood up for your other friends like that before. At least, not that I can remember.”

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue but then he thought back on what he had told Itachi, and had to grudgingly admit his brother was right. He decided right then and there that he was going to talk less about Naruto when Itachi was around, or else he’d never hear the end of it. His silence prompted his brother to change the topic of discussion.

“Mother and Father asked if you’d like to go home for Christmas and New Years. I think they miss you. It’s been a while since you’ve gone home,” Itachi said, wheeling Sasuke’s suitcase upstairs.

“I think you already know how I’m going to respond to that,” said Sasuke. “I don’t miss them. I don’t want anything to do with them, or their dirty money. I’m not going back.”

“I see. I’m glad your convictions haven’t changed,” Itachi said as he unlocked the door, “I take it then that you’ll be spending your break here?”

“Will there be a problem if I say yes?” Sasuke said, kicking off his shoes.

His brother smiled at him, the kind that left his eyes shaped like little crescents. It was a rare smile, but Sasuke’s favorite. “I enjoy spending as much time as I can with you, Sasuke. It’s no problem at all.”

Itachi worked a grueling job as a lawyer that always left him with dark circles. He was talented at what he did, remarkably intelligent, and considered anything and everything with level-headed patience. After Sasuke had found out exactly _how_ the Uchiha family had gotten rich, he finally understood why his brother refused to take over the family business, and Sasuke had instantly left the manor to live with him. Itachi hadn’t asked questions, rather he had simply pointed to the guest bedroom and said, “I had a feeling you’d show up eventually,” with that same smile on his face like he had known everything since the beginning. Sasuke looked up to his brother above anyone else.

Itachi was preparing dinner when he hit Sasuke with an unexpected question. “Will you be going to Yamanaka's holiday soiree?”

“Probably not,” said Sasuke.

“I think you should go.”

“And why is that?”

“There have been quite a few young ladies asking about you. You’ve been single since you started at Konoha Preparatory—they’re very curious about you.” Itachi paused, then continued to chop carrots. “As a future marriage candidate, that is.”

Sasuke almost spat out his water. He glared at Itachi. “I’m not interested in finding a future _marriage candidate_ at one of Ino’s stupid parties. You’re practically throwing me to the wolves!”

“It would be good for us to increase our connections with other wealthy families. I thought you liked to network?” Itachi said wryly.

“I’ve spent my fair share of time networking with my classmates, and I refuse to spend any time during my holiday break interacting with them any more than I need to—I’m surrounded with idiots as it is,” said Sasuke.

“Alright,” said Itachi, dropping the subject, “If you insist.”

* * *

Sasuke spent the first few days of his break relaxing at the apartment while Itachi was at work. He finished reading all the books he hadn’t gotten to while at school, sent the occasional text message to the soccer team group chat, and half heartedly searched online for his brother’s Christmas present. Shopping for Itachi was difficult because of the money aspect—Itachi could easily purchase anything he wanted with a drop of a hat. He was never in want of anything.

Eventually, Sasuke took it upon himself to visit the high-end shopping district. It was due to two main reasons—one, he was bored out of his mind, and two, he wasn’t making much headway in online shopping. It helped that the staff who manned the luxury stores were always professional and immaculate (and therefore would stay their distance unless asked), but he did feel other shoppers ogling him.

Some of them were creepy, leery glances. He didn’t like it one bit.

He tried to ignore them and browsed the store, ultimately picking out a fairly expensive wallet for his brother. Itachi’s current wallet was showing some wear and tear, so it was a good time as any for a replacement.

Sasuke was about to leave with his purchase when something caught his eye—in one of the display cases near the exit, sat a frog-shaped coin purse. It was fat, green, and completely ridiculous. It reminded him of Naruto’s stupid pajama pants.

He gestured for a saleswoman to come help him. “I’d like to purchase that one as well,” he said. He’d never bought a present for a friend before, but if it was for his best friend, perhaps he could make an exception.

Later that night, he texted Naruto.

_I bought you something stupid, stupid. What’s your address so I can drop it off_

Naruto’s response was a load of gibberish with his address haphazardly thrown in at the end. He then asked Sasuke if he was going to Ino’s party. Sasuke frowned—he was not going, not even if Naruto begged him to. Best friends didn’t force their best friends into lame situations like overblown networking parties.

_No I’m not going_

_But everyone will be there! Esp me. I’ll be there_

_I don’t care if you’re there, I’m not going_

_Oh so ur scared_

_Ur a little pussy cat_

_Pussy_

_Pussy_

_PUSSY_

Sasuke sincerely regretted getting Naruto a present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've upgraded from friends to BEST friends *wipes a tear* I love me a good slow burn
> 
> Also I really tried to keep Sakura's characterization closer to how their genin team was and the confession was centered around that. Sakura liked Sasuke, and yes sometimes she could be annoying with it, but never in a way that deserved for her to get bashed as much as she does in some SasuNaru fics. I hope she came out okay!
> 
> Thank you all for reading so far!! I PROMISE WE'LL GET PROGRESS EVENTUALLY


	6. Out of the Frying Pan and Into Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your well wishes on my vacation! I'm back and READY FOR MORE SASUKE AND NARUTO CONTENT

If there was anything the Yamanaka family did better than any other family, it was throwing parties. Naruto had already been invited to a few gatherings but had chosen to spend his weekends with his pa instead. It was a fairly regular occurrence so he didn’t feel terrible about turning down the invitation—plenty of other people always showed up. Plus, his pa’s company was much more enjoyable than hanging around snooty rich folks.

However, now that there was a solid stretch of flexible time during break, and now that he also had some snooty rich folks as friends, Naruto finally decided to attend one of Ino’s soirées.

Ino’s invitation had come at the perfect time. It was a solid reason to get together. He hadn’t seen any of his friends—minus Sasuke, briefly—since they went on break, just simply because of schedule alignments. But now even Shikamaru was able to come—apparently their families were close and they would take any excuse to see one another, even if it meant cutting a vacation short.

Naruto had to buy another tux for the occasion because apparently the wealthy didn’t think about rewearing their clothes. His pa thought it was funny. Naruto thought it was a waste of good money.

Ino’s mansion was located on a stretch of private property. From afar, it was still impressive—Naruto bet Ino was so rich that she bought another boat when her current ones got wet. And then, when he entered the building, it was exactly how he imagined a filthy rich person’s house would be—long, spiral staircases, crystal chandeliers, and fancy butlers prowling the grounds with finger foods on silver platters.

Naruto snagged a cheese cube and popped it in his mouth. Not bad, but his pa’s homemade cheese was better.

Lee, decked out in gold chains and multiple wristwatches, was the first person Naruto recognized. After exchanging greetings (which mostly consisted of Lee yelling and crushing him in a hug) he and his buddy scoured the area in search of other people they knew, and more importantly, more nibbles.

They each had a plate of hors d'oeuvres when Lee tugged on his arm. “Naruto!” Lee whispered loudly, “Look at Ms. Haruno! Is she not stunning this evening?” Naruto swallowed the quiche he was eating and followed Lee’s gaze to Sakura, who was standing near the punch bowl chatting with her friends. She sparkled under the chandeliers like a glittering, pink jewel—more luminescent and elegant than usual. Lee was right—she was stunning.

“We should say hi,” Naruto whispered back. Lee nodded enthusiastically in agreement. They casually made their way over, waving hands in brief hello’s to some other classmates, when Naruto noticed someone else leaning against the wall who caught his eye far more than Sakura had.

He’d never seen Sasuke in formal wear since Sasuke had totally skipped out on homecoming, however Naruto made a quick mental note that it was probably for the better that he hadn’t. His friend was devastatingly handsome on a normal day, but now that he was dressed to the nines, Sasuke was on another plane of existence.

If Sakura was a jewel, Sasuke was the moon—glowing, outworldly, and completely out of reach.

He even had his hair slicked back. It was stupid.

“Oi! Sasuke! I thought you were gonna pussy out of the party!” Naruto yelled. Several heads turned at his crass language. Sasuke’s was one of them, but the look on his face was more exasperated than annoyed. He strolled over, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“I wasn’t going to show up, but I couldn’t resist another opportunity to watch you embarrass yourself,” said Sasuke. “And lo and behold, the situation has already presented itself. Hello, Lee—good to see you again.”

“Sasuke! It is good to see you as well! I’m happy you were able to make it to this bountiful gathering!”

“If it were up to me I wouldn’t be here at all, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Naruto forcefully looped his arm in Sasuke’s. “Don’t be such an antisocial bootlicker and just stand there—join us, the food’s decent and we’re checking the place out,” he said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and said, “why are you like this” but let Naruto and Lee lead him through the throngs of partygoers.

They passed by Sakura on the way to get food. From Naruto’s peripheral vision he saw her zero-in on Sasuke, her mouth slightly parting, bright green eyes wandering over their small group. Naruto knew she carried a torch for Sasuke—that hadn’t stopped Naruto from telling her he liked her in the past—but currently, despite how beautiful she looked that evening, Naruto suddenly lost all temptation to greet her.

He looked at Sasuke instead. The corner of his friend’s mouth was turned up in a half-smile, and he was saying something, but Naruto wasn’t paying much attention because he was transfixed by the way Sasuke’s mouth was moving. Sasuke’s gaze flicked over to Naruto—damn, his eyelashes were really long, were guys allowed to have eyelashes like that? Was that normal? And had Sasuke always looked so...sexy? A hot flush spread from the center of Naruto’s chest and through his limbs, where Sasuke’s arm was lean and muscular against his. His fingertips tingled.

Well, that was new.

“Ah—Kiba! Shikamaru! We were looking for you! Could we join your table?” Lee’s voice broke the spell and Naruto refocused, though the heat still simmered under his skin.

His other friends had already started to stuff themselves with food, Shikamaru briefly explaining in a bored voice that Ino’s family only hired the country’s best chefs, so it was as good of a time as any to get a Michelin-star experience without the insane waitlist.

“I don’t even know what a Michelin-star is,” said Naruto.

Kiba patted him gently on the back. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll teach you the ins and outs of high society eventually.”

Naruto sampled some of the items Kiba recommended when the butlers made their rounds. Whoever the Michelin people were, they sure knew what they were doing in terms of food—Naruto was stuffed, and let himself be lulled into casual discussions about what they’d been up to since break started. The lights dimmed as Kiba was in the midst of a juicy retelling of his latest hookup (Lee looked positively scandalized), and the young hostess finally made an appearance.

Ino stood at the top of the stairway, in between who Naruto guessed to be her parents, dressed head to toe in dripping crystals like a personified ice sculpture. The Yamanaka family gave a brief speech thanking their guests and wished they would enjoy the soirée to its fullest before striking a small gong, signalling the dancing was to begin. Naruto was content to sit at his table and drink more, but their eating area was getting more crowded. It took him a while to figure out why.

It was because girls were trying to talk to Sasuke. Lots of them. Too many of them. Naruto half-wanted to tell them to back off because Sasuke was _not interested_. Sasuke was ignoring any and all attempts to get his attention and spreading a very obvious message that he didn’t want to be bothered. Naruto knew—he had been on the receiving end of that message far too many times.

The girls however, didn’t take the hint. One of them, finally bold enough to approach their circle, asked Sasuke for a dance.

Sasuke accepted. Naruto’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“D-did you guys see that?” he spluttered as Sasuke’s figure retreated to the dance floor, “He just got up to dance with her!”

“It’s a soirée, it's what people do,” said Shikamaru.

“I know! But this is _Sasuke!_ Since when did he dance with _anyone?_ ”

“Since the girl who asked him is the daughter of a prominent financial chairman,” said Shikamaru, “That’s when.”

As Naruto watched Sasuke lead the girl in some fancy-pants waltz, he realized there probably wasn’t a single thing Sasuke couldn’t do well. Yet somehow that made Naruto pity him a bit—Sasuke likely didn’t have a fun childhood if he was forced to learn all these adult things. He didn’t look like he was having fun at that moment either.

His friend was taking it like a champ though. Naruto noticed how Sasuke pointedly avoided making eye contact with his dance partner for too long and was also responding in one word answers to anything he was asked. He was definitely reluctant to be there.

“We should dance too, Naruto!” said Lee, teeth flashing. “I will show you the impressive dance moves my father and mentor bestowed upon me!”

Naruto rolled up his sleeve cuffs and stood up. “Let’s tear up the dance floor, Lee.”

“Somehow, I feel like this is just a disaster waiting to happen,” said Kiba.

Kiba wasn’t wrong—Naruto and Lee danced so vigorously a seam ripped in Lee’s jacket. It didn’t matter too much as the jackets soon came off anyways. Naruto was having fun swinging his friend around, their whooping attracting a lot of attention—this time, more amused looks and a few chuckles. Some girls sidled up to Naruto for a dance, commenting that they liked his southern accent, and asked how he was connected to the Yamanaka family.

“Classmates,” Naruto supplied, and then he was whisking them around in a sophisticated square dance. The girls giggled and pecked his cheeks when he bowed and took the next waiting lady, and the musicians changed the tempo of their music to match with his dancing—the elegant waltzes faded out to something more lively and upbeat.

Back before he moved, Naruto had his fair share of barn dances. There, he would dress in his best flannel and worn jeans, and go to town drinking moonshine and eating barbeque and mac and cheese. Occasionally, he would hit on a pretty girl from his school, and if they gave him the time of day or were charmed by his forwardness, frisky activities would follow. He didn’t think any frisky activities would be happening at Ino’s party, nor were there fatty foods or bootleg alcohol, but the underlying vibe of enjoyment was there. People were laughing, conversing, and letting loose. The party environment suited him and his loud personality—it was situations like that which made others gravitate towards him.

He liked it.

He passed his current partner to Lee and the instant his hands were free, someone tapped his shoulder—it was Hinata, who apparently had just shown up to the party with Neji. They had arrived fashionably late. She curtsied and shyly asked if she could have the next dance. Naruto obliged, taking her small palm in his, and led the way. She was light on her feet and smiled at him the entire time they danced, face flushed due to what Naruto was sure was alcohol.

He hadn’t spent much time with Hinata outside of being her homecoming date, since he was focused on the soccer tournament and all, so seeing her at the soirée was a welcome reunion. She was a token nice girl, sweet, quiet, and soft. Not to mention she was always supporting them during soccer practices and their seasonal matches, which only proved her niceness further. Occasionally, Naruto would see something more headstrong in her, a boldness that was exposed after exhausting her courage reserves. He respected that.

The song slowly drew to an end. When it was over, Hinata squeezed his arm determinedly and said, “I need to tell you something.” It was one of those moments where she was being courageous. Naruto could tell because she didn’t stutter.

Naruto grinned, “Sure—you can always tell me anything.”

“I like you, Naruto,” she said.

Naruto laughed. She really _was_ nice. He couldn’t remember the last time someone told him that. “I like you too, Hinata!”

Her face instantly turned beet red. “Y-you do?”

“Sure I do,” Naruto reassured her, “Yer like, probably the nicest person I know! And I always have a good time when we hang out. We should spend more time together, it would be fun.”

Hinata looked super happy. Naruto was glad she felt the same way; he was already hanging out with Neji, so hanging out with his cousin would be no problem. One could never have too many friends.

“I would really like that!” she said excitedly. “S-say, Naruto—would you be free during New Years for our first d-d—”

“—There you are,” said Sasuke’s voice from behind them, “I’ve finally finished dancing with god knows how many women. I need a breath of fresh air. Come with me.”

Naruto gave Hinata an apologetic look. “Sorry Hinata—I’ll see you around.”

She gave him a small wave goodbye, looking somewhat forlorn, but Naruto didn’t have much time to think about that as he let Sasuke pull him away from the dancing crowd. It was the dead of winter and colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra, so the courtyard was out of the question. Sasuke seemed to know where he was going though, and took them down the hallway behind the stairs. The noise of the soirée died away as they sat down on the carpeted floor.

“Got tired of dancing?” asked Naruto.

Sasuke huffed. “More like got tired of ass kissing. I don’t like it when people fish for compliments. It’s shallow as fuck.”

“What kind of compliments were they fishing for?”

“The usual. ‘How do I look?’ ‘Am I pretty tonight?’ ‘Have you seen my father’s yacht?’ All superficial, stupid-ass questions that only have one correct answer.”

Naruto leaned against the wall. “That sucks,” he said. “Honest.”

“You don’t know the worst of it,” Sasuke snorted. “I need to get close, but not too close. If I get too close, they’ll get the wrong idea—or other people will get the wrong idea, and then strange rumors will spread, and I don’t have time to deal with that kind of shit.”

“Strange rumors? Like ya’ll are sex friends? Or like—”

“—Jesus Naruto, you have no filter. Yes, like I’m in a relationship with them. Which may or may not include sexual intercourse, depending on how nice the rumors decide to be.”

Naruto laughed. “Who the hell says ‘sexual intercourse?’ Ya sound like a prude. Just say ‘fuck’ like the rest of us.”

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. “Fine. Like I’m fucking them.”

...Naruto had gotten randomly turned on several times in his young life. Once, when a girl sat on his lap in middle school. Another, when a classmate bent down, revealing her thong. Again, when someone gave him a back hug and pushed her breasts against him. And, a few others as well—all involving very lovely, conventionally beautiful females. But when Sasuke said those words, Naruto felt a pull far more intense than he had ever experienced before. It was a terrible combination: Sasuke, slightly out of breath, top button loosened, spreading his legs out on the floor, talking about sex.

Ordinarily, Naruto would be fine talking about sex. He and Kiba would talk about it often, they even shared some nsfw pics of hot women between one another on their phones. He had his fair share of dirty dreams, and dirty magazines. Hell, Naruto was a healthy teenage boy with a healthy libido and a strong interest in the opposite gender, so talking about sex was _normal._

Yet talking with Sasuke about it was a very clear mistake. It was a mistake because the moment Sasuke mentioned it, Naruto wondered what his friend looked like while having sex. Thankfully he clamped down on his imagination as soon as the thought came to mind. He didn’t want to think about it, because if he did, he would never be able to look at Sasuke the same way again.

Naruto didn’t know if he was gay, or maybe bi, or still high on adrenaline from dancing for an hour. But for some reason he was currently very attracted to Sasuke and was downright confused as to what to do with that information.

He settled for gulping and saying, “W-well! Glad you’re smart enough to keep your distance! Girls like that can be so annoying…! So. Good conversation. Thanks for chatting, what do you say we go back in there and dance some more?”

Sasuke was looking at him suspiciously. Naruto was desperately willing his groin to stop getting hot and bothered.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sasuke asked bluntly.

“Nothing,” Naruto croaked back.

Sasuke thankfully didn’t pursue it further. “Okay, don’t tell me.” He turned to face Naruto and leaned into his side, shoulder aligning with his. His face was impassive, which was in stark contrast to the very animated storm of butterflies whirling in Naruto’s stomach. Naruto desperately hoped Sasuke wouldn’t start talking about sex again, even though Naruto was the one who had goaded him into it to begin with. Thankfully, Sasuke didn’t, but his next words were also quite good at punching Naruto in the gut.

“As for your offer to go back in and dance, I’m going to say no. I’d rather us just hang out here together for a bit longer. Unless you don’t want to? Best friend?” Sasuke said the last phrase with a lilt to his voice.

Fuck. Yeah, they were supposed to be best friends, weren’t they? Best friends didn’t think about their best friend in sexually compromising positions. At least, Naruto was trying very hard not to.

“Haha! Who said I didn’t want that?” Naruto said, attempting to stay as composed as possible, “I’m down to chill whenever. Like I said before, I like spending time together when it’s just...it’s just…”

Shit. He was bumbling like an idiot.

Sasuke was even more suspicious now. “When it’s just us two?” he finished. “Seriously Naruto, the fuck’s wrong with you?” He leaned closer, scrutinizing him, and that was the final straw. If Naruto didn’t leave now, he was going to do something rash which would _probably_ ruin their friendship forever. Naruto stood up and bolted, yelling out a “sorry” as he ran back to the dance floor where things were safe and he wouldn’t think about making out with his best friend.

* * *

Sasuke sent him some strongly worded text messages after that, but Naruto was keen on dismissing anything that had happened that night. He was not attracted to Sasuke. He absolutely, positively, was not.

Naruto liked girls. He liked cute girls like Sakura who were intelligent, elegant, and well-spoken.

He did not like guys like Sasuke, who were bossy, crass, and good at soccer. It just didn’t make any sense.

Their teammates hung out again after that, but the air between Naruto and Sasuke was a little different, namely because Naruto was probably the one making it tense. Lee picked up on it of course, and would send worried glances between the two of them. If anyone else picked up on it, they didn’t comment on it. Naruto tried his damndest to act normal.

But when school started again, it became harder and harder to act like everything was fine. Sasuke and Naruto were thrown into track and field as their after school sport, partially because Coach Gai promised they would get extra credit in gym class if they joined (not that they needed it), and partially because Lee had practically begged them on his hands and knees to join. Naruto couldn’t say no when Lee pleaded with teary eyes. Sasuke probably just said yes so Lee would stop bothering them.

Their teamwork was incredible, said Lee, so it only made sense that they did the relay race together. Lee of course, would be the anchor in the race in addition to competing in as many events as he could. He proudly told them he had the endurance of a racehorse—Naruto didn’t doubt it in the slightest. Lee was a speed _machine._

The girls still showed up to watch them practice, maybe because they were bored, more likely because they wanted to watch Sasuke run. Hinata at least would greet Naruto before and after every practice, which just went to show how much of a nice girl she was. She was also more talkative, and seemed keen on trying to find more time for them to hang out one on one after their talk at the soirée. Between Naruto’s study sessions with Sasuke and his food dates with the boys however, there wasn’t much time to spare. He felt guilty about consistently turning her down but she took it well, quietly saying with a smile that there would always be time in the future.

Eventually Naruto got annoyed at himself for brushing Hinata off and scheduled for them to get dinner together at the dining hall.

Practice for individually focused sports was more boring than it was for team sports. There was nothing except running, and lots of it. Naruto was sick of running. He wanted to kick a ball for fuck’s sake, maybe kick it to Shikamaru or to Kiba, but mostly to Sasuke, and watch Sasuke destroy the field and score goals like they had done just a few months ago.

But instead, they were running endless loops around a field, the only one having a great time being Lee who was a bundle full of energy and would probably have a good time watching worms eating soil. Naruto and Sasuke both took the spring sport less seriously than they did soccer, it was just a way to pass the time for them after all, but both put in as much effort as they could for their relay race because Lee was in it, and he said he was counting on them.

And, they would be shit teammates if they didn’t.

Naruto swore he was trying to treat Sasuke the same as he normally did, but it was becoming harder to restrain himself when his heart pounded like crazy in his chest every time Sasuke would say something snarky to him, or when their fingers would brush when the baton was passed between them, or even when Sasuke would lean over to point out something Naruto did wrong on his homework.

That was another thing—they had continued their habit of nightly study sessions with the start of the new semester. Sasuke also got a new pair of glasses—those, in addition to the dumb hair clips he now insisted on wearing outside of practice, was like a stab in the heart. Each night Naruto thought he was going insane from being in a confined space with Sasuke. He strongly believed that every hour that passed was a year shaved off his life. It wasn’t fair that Sasuke was able to treat Naruto as usual while Naruto was floundering around him like a fucking fish in a metal pail.

And it continued on, and on, with Naruto slowly but surely coming to terms that he _might_ like Sasuke, _maybe just a teeny-tiny-little-bit,_ when one day in late January, the tension building between them took a very sharp, very bad turn.

Sasuke was pissed off. Pissed off at Naruto. And, pissed off in a way that Naruto had never experienced before. Prior to Sasuke’s current mood, he would at least snap back with some witty retorts when Naruto got into his business. But now, he blatantly ignored Naruto’s existence. He didn’t even pettily try to outdo him in anything. He pretended Naruto was a ghost.

And it was just Naruto. The indication being that every time Naruto entered the vicinity, Sasuke’s eyes would grow cold, and his lips would press together in a frown. He was still civil to everyone else.

They stopped studying together when Naruto had knocked on Sasuke’s door and Sasuke hadn’t answered, even though the light strip indicated he was in his room. Naruto didn’t try again.

Naruto wracked his brains trying to figure out what he had done wrong. Sure, he had been awkward around Sasuke—but was that really enough to put him on the receiving end of a freezing cold shoulder? He wasn’t as smart as Shikamaru so he couldn’t really use context clues to figure out why Sasuke was mad at him. The silent treatment went on for several days which meant lunch, gym class, and track and field practice were all horrible, horrible times to be alive.

He tried to ask his friends, but they didn’t know. Sakura didn’t know. Ino didn’t know. None of Sasuke’s fangirls knew why Naruto’s best friend was now his worst enemy. And Sasuke obviously was not going to divulge that information any time soon because any time Naruto tried to corner him to ask, he would find a convenient escape.

The answer finally came to him in the form of a passing comment from Neji.

“Congratulations, Naruto.”

“For what?”

“Hinata mentioned during dinner last night that you guys are officially dating now. Congratulations.”

Naruto was in shock. “Hinata and I...are dating?”

Neji frowned. “Wouldn’t you know? You’re her boyfriend.”

Logically yes, if Naruto really was her boyfriend, he would know. He _should_ know. But since when were they dating? Didn’t both people need to agree they were dating before the actual relationship started?

“What did you mean by...officially?” he asked weakly.

“Didn’t you have your first date together a few days ago?” Neji responded. “Unless you don’t remember that too?”

Their first date? Their first...what? Had they done anything to constitute as a date? Naruto had gotten dinner with her after track practice that one time...was that what Neji was referring to?

Naruto knew without a doubt this time that it was _exactly_ what Neji was referring to. Fuck, this was not good. If Neji had to tell it to Naruto’s face, how long had Hinata been under the illusion that they were a couple?

There were too many questions, and they all needed to be clarified as soon as possible.

“I’m not dating Hinata,” Naruto said.

“You’re what?”

“I’m not dating her,” Naruto repeated.

Neji blinked for a few seconds in silence. He was a smart guy though, so he finally spoke and said, “Well you’d better go figure out how far the rumor mill has gotten with this one, because people have been talking about you since about a week ago.” A pause. “And please let my cousin down gently, she’s pretty into you. Though you’re pretty oblivious when it comes to this kind of stuff, so I doubt you noticed.”

“I didn’t,” said Naruto.

“I figured as much.”

The rumor mill, by some godly miracle, hadn’t made it too far. The people who knew were in Naruto and HInata’s inner friend circle, and thankfully most everyone (Ino being the exception) weren’t ones to gossip. Naruto knew he would have to break the bad news to Hinata, and he was dreading it. His worries were completely accurate, because confronting her about it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his life.

He texted her to meet up after class, and she all but ran up to him when they locked eyes, cheeks rosy with happiness. Her dark hair pooled around her shoulders. He thought she looked a little bit like a snow fairy.

“H-hi, Naruto!” she greeted him breathlessly.

“Hey Hinata—! Thanks for meeting up with me, do ya got time to chat?” Guilt coiled in his stomach when he watched her face light up.

“Yes! I do!”

They wandered aimlessly around the courtyard. The wind, thankfully, had died down. Winter had dumped several inches of snow to the ground, and the salt on the sidewalk crunched under their feet. Naruto exhaled, watching his breath trail upwards. It was now or never. “I’ve got somethin’ to ask ya, Hinata.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you think we’re dating?” He turned to examine her expression. She was still smiling at him. He felt bad.

“I-I mean, yes! We started d-dating this week, right? I’ve always wanted to be with you Naruto, so this is a dream come t-true for me,” she said. “When you said you liked m-me back during Ino’s soirée, I was so happy. It f-felt like a miracle. After all, I’ve been admiring you all this time.” She looked shyly at him.

Aw, shit. He had really dug himself into a hole this time. He had to set her straight—it wasn’t at all like she thought it was.

“I...I’m sorry you interpreted it like that,” he said, stumbling over his words. “What I said at Ino’s party, when we danced together...I don’t think you understood me the way I intended.”

Hinata stopped walking. Naruto saw something in her hesitate. “What do you mean?” she asked quietly.

“What I meant was…” Fuck, this was terrible—Naruto was the worst being alive on the goddamn planet. A nice girl liked him and wanted to date him and he was stuck thinking about why his best friend hated his guts. “What I meant was...I do like you...but...just as a friend.”

It was like the light in Hinata had been snuffed out. She looked heartbroken. Naruto tried his best to lessen the damage, hastily adding on, “I do like you Hinata, really. You’re a great girl, and you’re super sweet…”

Her gaze flitted to the ground as if trying to hold in tears. “If I’m so nice and sweet, then why don’t you want to date me?”

It was a good question that Naruto didn’t have an answer to. In any other ordinary case, he would have jumped at the chance to date someone like Hinata. She was a charming girl, one who respected him and saw past his flaws. But, there was also...another person.

Naruto’s brain supplied an image of Sasuke’s face. It really didn’t help at all with the situation at hand.

“I—I mean—” Naruto said, trying to come up with an excuse but failing miserably, “I just...I...can’t.”

God, he sounded so fucking lame.

Hinata, unlike him, pushed forwards. “Even if we can’t...I _really_ like you Naruto. So, so much. You’re the brightest, most amazing person I’ve ever met. You always try your best at everything, and give it your all—and I admire that aspect of you. To me, you’re like a star. I just want to be there for you, and be a special person to you. You’re the first guy that I’ve actually...ever...” She took a breath and stood a little straighter. “That I actually was ever interested in.”

Naruto was flattered, but Hinata’s speech only made him feel a million times worse. “I’m sorry. I just...I like you as a friend. I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry,” he said. He could only continue to apologize like a fool for the misunderstandings, for potentially leading her on, for being a bad person for not noticing how she felt.

“...It’s okay,” she said, giving him a slight, sad smile. “I know you would never intentionally hurt anyone. You’re too kind for that. I-it’s one of the reasons I like you so much to begin with.” She twiddled her fingers together, eyes downcast. “I’ll...I suppose I’ll have to talk to everyone and clear up the m-misunderstandings the best I can. But Naruto...I don’t think I’ll be able to stop liking you for a while.” She looked up at him courageously, and Naruto saw that spark in her that he knew was there inside of her, dormant most of the time, until she needed to draw on its power like she was doing right then. “I’ll s-still be coming to watch you practice, and I’ll still be cheering you o-on, like always. I’m just going to carry on as usual, because my love for you...is as much for me as it is for you. I still want to support you because even though you only like me as a friend now, I want you to know that no matter what, I’ll always be watching your back. And I’ll be hoping, each and every day that I see you, that one day you’ll like me back.” Here, she laughed softly, averted her gaze again, and the strong, confident Hinata retreated back into her shell. She had done well.

“You’re a really cool person, Hinata.” Naruto said. “I’m glad I met you. And when I say you’re a great person and a great friend, I mean it.”

And he knew Hinata was one of the strongest people he’d ever met because even as he apologized again and walked away, she didn't cry.

* * *

He spent the next couple of hours explaining to his friends what had happened, most of them winced when they heard about how the conversation went. Kiba gave him a one-armed hug. “Sorry you had to go through that bud—was thinking to myself why you hadn’t told any of us you were dating her. Figured you were trying to keep it a secret, for one reason or another.”

“No secrets,” Naruto sighed, “Just a big fucking misunderstanding.”

“You should probably tell Sasuke,” Shikamaru said.

“Why should I tell Sasuke? That asshole doesn’t want anything to do with me anyways.”

“Might be a good idea. Just my two cents,” Shikamaru shrugged. “Your choice.”

Naruto groaned. He didn’t want to deal with Sasuke. He really, truly, didn’t want to deal with Sasuke. His friend was a dark, brooding monster at the moment, and just the thought of entering his space to get his head ripped off filled him with some sort of apprehension. Yet, he found himself in front of Sasuke’s dorm room door, fist ready to knock; because Naruto was a good friend, and would be the better person. It would be like ripping off a bandaid, he reassured himself. Quick and easy.

He knocked.

Sasuke opened the door, saw Naruto standing there, and went to shut it immediately. It reminded Naruto of how they first met, and he didn’t like it at all.

He stuck his foot in the door to prevent Sasuke from closing it.

Sasuke glared. “The fuck do you want?” he snapped.

“I’m your best friend,” said Naruto. “Can ya please let me in?”

“No.”

“Fine then, can we talk here?”

“What is there to talk about? Wouldn’t you rather spend time cozying up with your _girlfriend_?” Sasuke said. He was seething.

“Hinata and I aren’t dating,” said Naruto.

“Right, and you had dinner with her a few days ago because you weren’t dating. And you talk with her every day after practice because you aren’t dating. And she told Sakura and Ino that you guys were together because you’re not dating. Seriously Naruto, you didn’t have to hide it from me. I thought being best friends meant we told each other important shit like when we started dating someone,” Sasuke spat out, and for the first time, Naruto heard hurt in his friend’s voice.

So that’s what it was. Sasuke was pissy at him because he couldn’t act like a grown up and communicate how he felt betrayed as a friend. He was upset because Naruto hadn’t confided in him about his non-existent girlfriend. He was angry at him because he had the emotional range of a fucking teaspoon and Naruto was _over it._ Maybe it would have been better if he just had accepted Hinata’s confession instead of taking the hard road and trying to repair his friendship. But no, Naruto was a stupid-ass masochist who always had to do the right thing, and right now, the right thing was clearing up a misunderstanding that he didn’t even _know_ was a misunderstanding until a few hours prior.

“I already told ya, ya deaf asshole, we aren’t dating!” Naruto yelled.

Sasuke’s expression went from shocked to furious.

“Oh yeah?” Sasuke yelled back, “Prove it! Don’t fucking lying to my face, Naruto!”

“I’m not lying!”

“Just saying that ‘you’re not lying’ doesn’t prove jack shit!”

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. At this point, Naruto didn’t care if everyone heard what he had to say. He was sick of Sasuke ignoring him. He was sick of whatever “thing” he was currently feeling for him. He was sick of bullshit rumors. He was sick of people not telling him things. He was sick of him and Sasuke acting like petty children, all because soccer season was over and they couldn’t just fucking kick soccer balls at each other until the truth came out.

Naruto exploded.

“Fuck! You know what? Fine! I’ll explain it so even an emotional dickwad like you can understand!” he yelled. “I told Hinata I liked her as a friend at Ino’s party over break, she took that to mean I _liked_ her, so she thought we were dating—big surprise! I know, who would have thought!? And I kept turning her down for dinner because I wanted to chill with you and the boys, but after a while I felt super _guilty_ for bailing on her all the time, so _like a good friend_ I had dinner with her once last week. Once, Sasuke! I had dinner with her _once_ and ya think we’re dating? And you chose to believe rumors instead of asking me about it? For Pete’s sake, grow the fuck up—! You’re supposed to be the responsible adult between us two, but right now there’s a fucking _tree-stump_ in the boonies with a higher IQ than you if you think I wouldn’t tell my _best fucking friend_ that I was dating someone!”

Naruto had never raised his voice that much in his life. By the end of his tirade, he was out of the breath and was winded both physically and emotionally. He stared at Sasuke, and Sasuke stared back. For a while, neither of them said anything.

Sasuke opened the door slightly. He was the one to break the silence. He looked a little guilty. Satisfaction welled inside Naruto at his reaction. Good. He _should_ feel guilty. It was the least the bastard could do after taking Naruto on the worst emotional roller-coaster of his life.

Sasuke looked past Naruto at the hallway behind him. “Guess I’m dumber than a tree stump in the boonies then,” he said.

“Yeah no shit,” said Naruto. “Can we go back to normal now?”

“Yeah. Sorry for being a giant bag of dicks.”

“Ya’d better be. I should have signed a contract if I’d have known being your friend was going to be such a pain in the ass. Now let me in, I’ve been doing shit in calculus without your help.”

Sasuke let him in.

* * *

Several days after they had reconciled, Naruto and Sasuke were back to normal. With a change in...one minor detail.

Naruto realized he was low-key, high-key, checking his friend out. Sometimes. Not all the time. But sometimes. It was fair, he reasoned whenever he caught himself in the act, because his friend was a good looking guy. He looked good in their crisp winter uniforms, and he looked good in his casual hoodies and jeans. He would probably look good dressed in a garbage bag. And looking at pretty things wasn’t a crime. Plenty of girls did it. Hell, even Sakura was as guilty as he was. Not that Naruto was doing that. He was totally _not_ looking at Sasuke in a way that wasn’t absolutely, 100% platonic. And even if he _was_ looking at Sasuke like that, Naruto wasn’t hurting anyone. He wasn’t causing trouble by watching Sasuke run on the track, or by observing Sasuke smash the badminton birdie into the gym floors, or by glancing at Sasuke when they studied together.

And when Sasuke would praise him and tell him that he was doing a decent job even though he had gotten half of the free response wrong, Naruto definitely didn’t feel like wrapping his arms around him. And when Sasuke would take off his glasses and rub his eyes after a long night of studying, Naruto definitely didn’t feel like kissing his nose and tucking him into bed. And when Sasuke would change in the locker rooms, pulling his gym t-shirt over his head, chest and abs of pale, lean muscle gratuitously put on display, Naruto definitely didn’t feel like tackling him to the ground, wedging a knee in between his legs, and passionately making out with him.

No, Naruto was not in denial, no, he was not attracted to his best friend, no, he was still acting like normal.

But deep down, Naruto knew. His subconscious spun fantasies and scenarios in his mind, just beneath the surface so he couldn’t grasp them. He didn’t know what was being created in there, just knew it wouldn’t be good when it finally came out. And it wasn’t.

Everything came to a head one evening when Naruto woke up sweating in the dead of the night. His room was dark, his alarm wasn’t due for a few hours, but he knew why he had woken up. It was because there was a wetness in his boxers and his mind was awash in panic.

His brain was feebly trying to remember all the details, desperately grasping at the remnants of the dream, because what Naruto had been trying so hard to avoid imagining had now come to fruition. And it had been good. It had been so good, Naruto didn’t want to forget any part of it. It had filled the dirty craving in him, it had tasted delicious, it had felt real—so real, that the emotions and the heat tied to his visions still lingered.

The images crawled into his mind like they were replaying the highlights of the best porn Naruto had ever watched.

Sasuke, languidly sitting in Naruto’s lap, fingers trailing up and down his arms. Sasuke, kissing him wetly with a pink, soft tongue. Sasuke, hooking his legs tighter around his waist. Sasuke, panting and muttering curse words under his breath. Sasuke, slowly grinding his hips against him. Sasuke, biting his shoulder and nipping at the muscles on his neck. Sasuke, looking at him with dark, promising eyes. Sasuke, head buried in between Naruto’s legs, greedily licking Naruto’s—

And it was the same Sasuke who was in the dorm room right next to him, the Sasuke who was his rival, the Sasuke who was his team captain, the Sasuke who was his best friend, the Sasuke who Naruto was now indubitably, sexually, emotionally, and passionately attracted to.

Naruto exhaled, looked up, and addressed his ceiling with the only three words that could adequately express how he was currently feeling.

“Fuck my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Finally. Some good fucking food.


	7. Don’t Bet All Your Money on One Horse

Sasuke’s lungs were aching. Running on a track was not enjoyable. It was all a flat, circular, no-doubt-about-it path, where the scenery never changed and the color was unnatural. And with the winter weather being what it was, all of it was indoors. He would much rather be running on a field with a ball under his feet, breathing in air that would freeze his lungs. Instead he was running in a giant, boring-ass loop. But regardless of how boring it was, Sasuke was a member of the track team (albeit a reluctant member), was good at running, and was currently at a meet. Shino had passed the baton to him perfectly, so if Sasuke was the reason they lost the race, he would only have himself to blame. Therefore it was with great reluctance that he strained his legs, put on a burst of speed, and ran the remaining distance of the track, locking his eyes on Naruto’s outstretched hand.

The baton passed smoothly between them. His teammate stretched their lead even further while Sasuke stopped to catch his breath. And then, just like they’d practiced, Naruto passed the baton to Lee, and Lee sprinted to the finish line. The other teams didn’t even come close. Sasuke would have felt bad, but they _were_ better. If they hadn’t tried, it would have been a slap in the face to their competitors.

Sasuke high-fived Naruto, Lee, and Shino, and then headed to the benches to get a much needed break and some water. His friends joined them, and things were _technically_ normal, but...

Naruto sat on the opposite side of the bench, and let Lee and Shino sit between them. Sasuke would have let the motion pass if Naruto hadn’t kept pulling the same shit at every meet. He thought that after their fight over Naruto’s relationship status, things would have settled down between them, and it wasn’t as though Naruto acted any differently around him but Sasuke got the nagging feeling that his friend was trying to physically distance himself.

While they still studied in Sasuke’s room, Naruto no longer sat next to him—instead, he sat across.

While they still had lunch and dinner together, Naruto let their other friends fill in the spots first, and would take the remaining one.

While they still practiced for the relay race together, Naruto always kept himself an arm’s length away.

Sasuke was downright irritated about it. He didn’t just develop _cooties_ or some shit overnight. And Naruto called him out for being a bad communicator—well, if Naruto was thinking something internally, he would have to spill it soon or Sasuke would punch it out of him. His patience for his friend’s antics was growing thin.

It was more than that—Sasuke bristled when Naruto chose to be next to others instead of him, because they were best friends and were _supposed_ to choose each other in any given situation. He wanted Naruto to be close. He wanted to push him when he said something particularly offensive, he wanted to drape an arm around his shoulder when they were chatting with their friends, he wanted Naruto to link their arms together like they’d done at Ino’s soirée. But that time felt distant now. Sasuke didn’t know what to make of it.

It continued like that for a few weeks—Naruto avoiding physical contact, or any situations that had the potential for physical contact. Sasuke let it pass each time, hoping each time would be the last, but Naruto’s stubbornness continued to stretch with no indication as to why.

* * *

On one bitterly cold February morning, Sasuke entered his first class of the day and noticed his desk was littered with envelopes. There were a handful of other desks with letters too, but it was like the mail carrier had dumped an entire box of mail on Sasuke’s.

He gingerly picked one up, noticed the fancy penmanship, and considered going back to his dorm feigning an illness. It was that time of the year already, and every time the particular day rolled around he forgot how annoying it was. He shuffled the envelopes inside his bag.

By lunchtime, Sasuke’s bag was packed to the brim with letters and growing heavier with each addition. He slid into his seat at the dining hall and set his plate down, and then from the corner of his eye, observed how Neji and Shikamaru took the seats beside him, Lee and Kiba following soon after, and then lastly Naruto, who took the seat at the end of the table. Far from Sasuke.

Sasuke pretended like it didn’t bother him.

They conversed about useless things: Lee about the upcoming meet, Neji about his physics course, until the topic of Valentine’s Day came up.

Sasuke knew it inevitably would—someone in particular had a penchant for gossiping.

“Did you bring all those love letters over here to rub your popularity in our faces or…?” asked Kiba, pointing his fork accusingly at him.

“I didn’t have time to dump them in the trash,” said Sasuke. Neji snorted into his drink.

“No Sasuke! Don’t do that!” Lee exclaimed, “The young maidens have poured their feelings in these letters for you! You should read them and write responses for each one!”

“No way in hell am I doing that.” Sasuke sliced his wrap in half, and stuffed one end in his mouth. “Too much time, too troublesome, and not my style. Maybe I’ll read them if I have a spare moment. But likely not.”

“Just make sure you don’t leave any crazies hanging out to dry,” said Shikamaru, “Unless you want a repeat of what happened last year?”

Unbidden images of strange occult offerings near his dorm room sprang to mind. Sasuke closed his eyes. “Thank you for reminding me, I was looking forward to having nightmares tonight,” he said.

“Woops, sorry.” Shikamaru didn’t sound sorry at all.

“What happened last year?” It was the first thing Naruto had said during the entire conversation. However, this was one of the few topics Sasuke was unwilling to entertain.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Unimportant.”

As usual, Kiba was the one to betray his trust. He grinned and jabbed his thumb at Sasuke. “Resident Mr. Popular Soccer Captain over here had a couple of _very interested_ young ladies pining over him. When he didn’t respond to their valentines, they took it upon themselves to break into the boy’s dorms, find Sasuke’s room, and put a bunch of presents by his door. And by presents, I really mean some freaky shit,” he snickered.

Sasuke could kill him.

“Like what?” Naruto asked eagerly.

“Oh you know, like lit candles, pieces of their hair, crocheted dolls of Sasuke, the usual.”

Naruto was getting a look on his face like he had just heard the juiciest news in a long time. Like a kid who had found his Christmas presents stashed in the closet. Like a cat that got the cream. A cocky grin formed on his lips and he let out a smooth whistle that had no doubt been used on a farm to call dogs and livestock. The combination was deadly. Sasuke hurriedly chugged down some water.

“Ya know what?” Naruto drawled, “I think the _real reason_ our peachy team cap doesn’t want to read them is because he’s scared.”

Sasuke immediately stood to defend himself. “No, it’s just a waste of time. Who the fuck would be scared of a valentine?”

“Oh yeah? Prove it, ya pussy. Open one and read it right now.”

Sasuke was being goaded into it and he knew it, but he wasn’t about to be blatantly insulted and called a pussy—why was it that Naruto always called him that at the worst times?—without a fight.

He grabbed a letter from the depths of his bag. It was, thankfully, thin—which meant the likelihood of something weird in there was remote. He tore it open.

It was garishly pink and smelled strongly of perfume. He wrinkled his nose.

“ _Dearest, beloved Sasuke_.” He took a deep breath, accidentally inhaled the scented fumes from the letter, and started coughing. God, he felt like vomiting. He regretted giving in to Naruto’s taunt. “ _I’ve been admiring you from afar since I attended one of your soccer games last year_. Fuck—do I really have to read this?”

“Do it,” said Naruto, “Or you’re officially a pussy.”

“Fuck you, Naruto.” Sasuke shot him a glare. His friend merely smiled back innocently and did a dirty gesture with his hands. The juxtaposition was unnerving. “ _I was enraptured by your charm,”_ Sasuke continued, _“Your grace on the field, the way you aren’t afraid to be who you are in a school where pretenses are everything. Your existence is special to me. I’m happy each day I get to pass you by in the halls. I get excited when I hear any news about you. I wish every evening that we may spend more time together. Sasuke, you are the most wonderful, most perfect person to me. I admire you for all the amazing things you accomplish simply by putting your mind to it. And more importantly, I know that if I go this semester without saying anything, I’ll regret it. So, I gathered my courage to write this._ ”

Sasuke paused. His friends hadn’t said a word during his monolging. He did a quick sweep of their faces and realized that after Naruto’s teasing, _they_ were the ones that were actually embarrassed by the romantic contents of the letter. Naruto’s face was reminiscent of a fire hydrant.

“ _And so_ ,” Sasuke continued smugly, taking great care to emphasize his next words, “ _I’ll confess my feelings to you. I love you, Sasuke. Will you be my valentine_?”

The silence between them stretched like cling wrap—delicate, thin, and very sticky. No one said a word. His friends sat around like chickens in a coop, probably in awe because someone used the L word in a letter to him. Which was dumb, really, because out of all of them who really knew what it was like to be in love? Sasuke surely didn’t. The word “love” was just something dropped when the word “like” wasn’t enough, and that’s all there was to it.

Naruto looked as though he did not enjoy Sasuke’s reading at all.

Neji cleared his throat. “Your admirer certainly has a way with words.”

Kiba slammed his fist on the table in mock frustration. “Hot damn! Why can’t I get a girl like that? What’s Sasuke got that I don’t?”

“He’s better looking, for one,” said Naruto, and everything went back to normal. No one brought up Sasuke’s valentines again.

Out of their entire conversation that afternoon, the only useful piece of information Sasuke gathered was that Naruto thought he was good looking.

Evening rolled around and Sasuke sat in his dorm room, dutifully sifting through all his love letters. A mountain of them had accumulated throughout the day. There was another small pile in the corner dedicated to chocolates and freshly baked cookies. Glitter covered his floor, which he knew even after sweeping up, would remain up until the earth crashed into the sun.

Sasuke did not like Valentine’s Day for several key reasons, most of which revolved around the fact that he was a recluse by nature. Any attention lavished upon him, if not requested or wanted, was staunchly unnecessary. It just meant more hoops to jump through to avoid burning bridges and looking like a dick, which honestly—Sasuke had contemplated more times than he cared to count. Too many girls, and the occasional guy, were interested in whatever public persona he showed to them. It was superficial. They didn’t know him at all. If they knew the real him, they would understand he was kind of an asshole, and run for the hills.

The holiday was just a fancy marketing tactic to lure in the romantic, lovesick fools who would gamble it all for their love to be requited.

A solid knock came at his door. Sasuke didn’t bother getting up—only one person he knew knocked like that. Sure enough, Naruto barged in unannounced. He took a look at Sasuke surrounded by opened envelopes, paper, and pink glitter and burst out laughing.

“You’re still going through them all?” Naruto asked.

“I’m almost done. Some of them wrote _pages_ ,” Sasuke said, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. “This is such a pain in the ass.”

“You really don’t have to read every single one,” said Naruto.

Sasuke tore open another envelope. “I kind of do,” he said.

“Why’s that?”

“Like Shikamaru said, I have to turn down the crazies so my dorm room doesn’t get desecrated.”

“You could always just stay with me tonight,” said Naruto.

Sasuke blinked and then kept reading the letter in his hands. He must have misheard.

“I’m right next door, it’ll be hella easy to just listen to the voices in the hall to check if anyone important actually comes looking for you,” Naruto elaborated, “So that if ya wanna avoid the crazies you have somewhere to go, or something. My room’s always open for ya, Sasuke. You know that.”

He did know that, but the offer was so out of left field that Sasuke chalked it up to Naruto messing with him again. He was still sore about the instigation at lunch, and the fact that his friend was loitering near the entrance, still staying his distance, set off a nerve.

“Pervert. You’re just looking to get an innocent virgin into bed with you,” said Sasuke sarcastically, “You horrid, horrid man.” He was just joking of course, but when Naruto didn’t laugh, Sasuke looked at him and discovered his friend’s face was flushed pink from the neck up.

“You’re—you’re—” Naruto stuttered, “You’re a virgin?”

Sasuke felt the tip of his ears instantly grow hot. He didn’t need to look in the mirror to know they were bright red. The room was suddenly all too small and Naruto’s presence in it all too overwhelming. “I was joking, you dolt!”

“...So you’re not a virgin?”

Sasuke choked on his spit. “The fuck!?”

This was all Naruto’s fault—he wasn’t actually supposed to read deeper into what Sasuke said—he was just supposed to joke back and say something crass and reiterate that he too, had been kidding when he asked Sasuke if he would like to sleep over. Not focus on the fact that Sasuke may or may not have exposed the nature of his sexual experience.

“I m-mean it’s ok if you’re a virgin!” Naruto said, trying to explain himself but really he was just digging himself deeper into a hole, “No judgment here, naw, none at all—! It’s normal! You should be proud of—”

Sasuke held up a hand. “Stop. Talking.”

Naruto stopped talking. Sasuke’s blood continued to echo in his ears. This was not how he expected his evening to go.

“You’re not then?” Sasuke asked. He felt like he already knew what the answer would be.

“Not a what?”

“Not a virgin.”

“I-I mean—if you want to get technical—”

“It’s a yes or no question, Naruto. You’re either a virgin or you’re not. So which one are you?”

A beat passed. Naruto looked at Sasuke with bright blue eyes. His voice came out low.

“I’m not.”

...Cool. That was cool. Naruto wasn’t a virgin. Sasuke should have seen it coming. He should have seen the appeal underneath the outside layer of country charm, that deep down Naruto was a hardworking, dedicated, headstrong, confident individual who always put his best foot forward; and there was no question that those traits would appeal to any girl who got to know him as well as Sasuke did. So the real question was, how many girls had Naruto fucked? Did they just gravitate around him like everyone else did, drawn to him because he was so loud and sunny and friendly to them? Did they kiss with chapped lips against soft ones, or did they use tongue? Did they wrap long legs around Naruto’s waist, curves pliant against hard planes of muscle? Was Naruto good in bed? Really, how many girls had Naruto fucked?

“How about you?” asked Naruto. “Are you a virgin, or aren’t you?”

“...I am.”

Sasuke had considered lying. But if he lied, that meant he was embarrassed by the truth, and he certainly wasn’t. He really, honest to god, cross-his-heart-and-hope-to-die-at-the-stake, wasn’t.

Naruto shuffled his feet. The tension in the air was suddenly so thick not even an axe would have cut it. Sasuke fixed his eyes on the letter in his hand but the words on it didn’t make sense anymore, they were just black scribbles on a white background. What did make sense however, was his own shallow breathing and the sweat on his fingertips. The temperature of his room blazed.

For the first time in a long time, Sasuke was nervous.

“The offer still stands, yanno,” said Naruto. “If you wanted to stay over. In my room.”

Sasuke couldn’t deal with this. First he had just exposed himself as a virgin. Then, he found out that Naruto was _not_. Now, he realized Naruto hadn’t been joking at all when he initially suggested Sasuke to stay over, so the entirety of the awkward situation that was currently transpiring was because Sasuke jumped to conclusions. It was all a fat mess and there was no backspace button, so all Sasuke could do was live with his mistake.

But Sasuke was an efficient man, and there were ways to make the most of a bad situation. He cleared his throat. Now was a good time to confront the _real_ issue at hand.

“I assumed you were kidding about your offer to stay over,” he said neutrally.

“Why would I kid about that?”

“Because you’ve been keeping your distance from me for the past few weeks now, so suddenly inviting me over for a sleepover where we might share a bed seemed a bit out of character,” said Sasuke.

“I was gonna sleep on the floor! And I ain’t avoiding you!” Naruto insisted.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. “Then why have you been standing in the doorway since you got here? Usually you’d have sat your ass down on something by now.”

“I’m...digesting,” Naruto mumbled.

What a lie.

Sasuke crossed his arms and gave him a pointed look that hopefully conveyed the message that he was calling _bullshit_. “Spit it out Naruto. You told me when I was pissed at you that I needed to act like the adult between the two of us, so that's exactly what I’m doing. Tell me why you’re avoiding me or I’ll punch you. I don’t mind paying a visit to Tsunade if it means I’ll get answers.”

“Putting me under threat of violence isn’t nice, Sasuke.”

“Nice is for friends. Harsh reality is for _best friends_. So what’s it going to be, Naruto? Are you going to tell me why you’ve purposely tried not to get close to me? Or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”

Naruto took a breath. “Pass.” And then he bolted, slamming Sasuke’s door, and seconds after, Sasuke heard Naruto’s door open and close with the same amount of force.

Sasuke grit his teeth. His friend was being a total dumbass. He got up, kicking valentines out of his path, punted a chocolate box for good measure, wrenched open his door, walked the two steps it took to get in front of Naruto’s dorm room, and began mercilessly beating Naruto’s door with his fist.

“Answer me, Naruto! Stop being a fucking baby!”

“You won’t like the answer I’ll give you,” Naruto called back, “In this instance, ignorance really _is_ bliss, so leave me the fuck alone!”

“You invited me to sleep over like five minutes ago, you twat!” Sasuke turned the doorknob. It didn’t budge, jiggling uselessly in his hand.

Naruto had locked the door.

And that’s where Sasuke drew the line. Naruto had literally _just_ said his door would always be open for him. He had kept it unlocked since the day he moved in. And Sasuke recently began leaving his unlocked too, in case Naruto needed him for anything. And now his supposed best friend had reneged on his promise, locking him out because he didn’t feel like providing a reason for his stupid change in behavior. Scratch what Sasuke had said about Naruto’s confidence—Naruto was a coward.

Sasuke felt anger rise in him like bile from a bad day of drinking. It bubbled and raged. Things had been so much easier last semester. They fought before, but it had all been surface level shit—fights that didn’t really have any meaning. What were they doing? Why were they like this? What had changed? Was it the fact they were no longer playing soccer together? Was it that Naruto had almost dated Hinata? Was it because Sasuke thought something was different between them ever since Ino’s soirée?

What the fuck was it?

He twisted the doorknob again just for good measure—no, definitely locked.

“I locked it, if that wasn’t already obvious,” said Naruto from behind the door.

“No, it was obvious,” Sasuke grit out.

“Keep your lover’s quarrel to yourselves,” said Shikamaru’s voice from the common area. “It’s like listening to a soap opera each time you guys fight.”

“Then leave,” said Sasuke, ignoring Shikamaru’s choice words of “lover’s quarrel”, and deciding right then and there that enough was enough. Sasuke released his hold on Narutos’ doorknob, calmly walked back into his room, grabbed his credit card, and expertly slid it in the crack between Naruto’s door and the wall. He turned the doorknob as he went. There was a small, satisfying click, and then it was Sasuke’s turn to burst into Naruto’s room unannounced.

By the look of surprise on Naruto’s face, his friend clearly hadn't thought he would go this far.

“How the hell did ya get in?”

“Credit card, easiest trick in the book,” said Sasuke. “There’s nowhere to run now. Tell me the truth, Naruto. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

“I’m not telling you,” Naruto said stubbornly.

Sasuke cracked his knuckles. Plan B it was, then.

Sasuke tackled him, knocking them both to the ground. They tussled for a bit—Naruto was _strong_ , but Sasuke was no pushover either—they wrestled, testing their mettle against each other. It had been a while since either of them had physically fought. Sasuke’s arms strained as he tried to grab a hold of Naruto, but Naruto was like an animal—writhing and twisting out of his grasp. Sasuke aimed a punch at him. Naruto caught his fist, muscles bulging and a dangerous glint in his eyes as he held Sasuke’s hand in his, and slowly, _slowly_ pushed Sasuke down.

His back hit the floor. Naruto looked down at him. They were both breathing heavily.

It appeared that in terms of strength, Naruto had him beat. Sasuke filed the piece of information away for later use.

Naruto loosened his grip imperceptibly, thinking he had won, but the fight wasn’t over yet since Sasuke was no quitter—the moment he sensed Naruto relax, he swung his legs around, and with enough brute force as he could muster, flipped their positions. Naruto’s back thudded against the ground. His body was hot between Sasuke’s thighs.

It was the closest they’d been to each other in a while.

“I won,” Sasuke snarled. “Spill it.”

“I never agreed to tell you, even if you won,” said Naruto.

“I thought best friends told each other everything?”

“You wouldn’t want to be my best friend anymore if I told you why I’m keeping my distance.”

Sasuke wanted to slap him. Naruto was being stubborn, like a horse digging in its heels when it didn’t want to run anymore. Clearly, he was staying away because he thought it was better for them both—but it really wasn’t better. Sasuke hadn’t enjoyed the self-imposed distance in the slightest. “What could you possibly tell me that would make me not want to be your best friend anymore? Is it cooties? Are you twelve? Because you’re acting like it,” he said.

Naruto glared at him. “I had a dream about you, okay?”

That was the stupidest reason Sasuke had ever heard. “Did I murder you in your dream?” asked Sasuke sarcastically. “You’re keeping far away from me because you’re afraid I’m secretly a serial killer?”

“No.”

Sasuke increased his grip on Naruto’s hand. Their fingers had gotten entwined during their struggle. “Well, then you need to tell me what the _fuck_ this dream was about, because you giving me a piss-poor answer isn’t helping. You need to tell me, Naruto. I don’t like being away from you.”

Naruto’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. He averted his gaze. “I’m telling ya, Sasuke. You ain’t gonna like what I’m gonna say.”

“I can’t promise I won’t like it, but I _can_ promise I won’t get mad. Just get it over with,” Sasuke replied.

Naruto mumbled something under his breath.

Sasuke leaned in closer, “Say it again. I didn’t hear you.”

“It was a wet dream. I had a wet dream about you,” Naruto said, and this time it was loud and clear.

Sasuke’s brain whited out in an out-of-body experience. The minor part of his brain that still functioned supplied useless information, like how Naruto’s stomach, which he was still sitting on, was all muscle, all warm, and all real. It also casually refreshed the information that Naruto was not a virgin. Something ticklish stirred inside him. “What were we doing in your dream?” he asked automatically.

Naruto snorted and continued looking at the wall. “It was a wet dream, Sasuke—what do you think we were doing?”

So they had fucked. Sasuke and Naruto had fucked in his dream.

And it was impactful enough that not only did Naruto remember it, but it was so embarrassing he wouldn’t touch Sasuke with a ten-foot pole. Sasuke slowly slid off Naruto onto the floor. Naruto laughed and sat up. “See? Told ya you wouldn’t like it.”

Sasuke played it off as best he could. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. He was almost...flattered? What was one or two wet dreams anyways? They were teenage boys, exploring their bodies and sexualities—and if that mentality took hold in their dreams as well, it was normal. Sasuke convinced himself this was the case, because if he didn’t, he would have lost the remaining bits of self control he had left; since, the more he thought about it, the more he imagined him and Naruto fucking, and the more he realized that it wasn’t that he didn’t like it, but rather it was sounding like a pretty decent idea.

He shook his head. Their friendship was more important than hormonal urges. He needed to show Naruto that it really wasn’t a big deal.

“Was I a good lay then?” he asked nonchalantly. “In your dream?”

Naruto’s face turned scarlet. “You’re not supposed to ask that.”

Sasuke smirked. “So I _was_ good?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, seeming to understand that Sasuke didn’t mean anything malicious, and said, “You were fine, I guess.”

Sasuke stuck out a leg and kicked him in the shin. “I can’t believe I lost my dream virginity to you,” said Sasuke, hoping his friend would lighten up because if he was the only one not taking it seriously, then it was going to get very awkward very fast, “I’m curious as to how far we got. Was I the one who took it up the butt, or was it you?”

Naruto grabbed the pillow off his bed and used it to muffle a scream. He glared at Sasuke. “We didn’t get that far,” he said, face scrunched up like it was painful to admit, “Seriously Sasuke—I knew this was going to happen if I told you about it, which is why I didn’t want to. You got what you wanted. Now leave me alone.”

Sasuke shrugged. “What’s a couple of sex dreams between best friends? At least I wasn’t bad in bed. If I had been bad, I would have gotten offended.”

Naruto threw his pillow at Sasuke. “You’re seriously the worst,” he groaned, “Are we really just going to let my wet dream go like this? Ya really don’t care?”

It seemed that Naruto had an idea of how Sasuke would react when he told him the news, and Sasuke’s current reaction was not aligning with Naruto’s expectations. Sasuke sighed. His friend was so dumb. “It was a dream. It wasn’t real life. I couldn’t give two shits about what happens in your dream. I’m more surprised that you offered to have me over if you were so worried about this. Your actions don’t match with what you’re saying. So, let me ask you this—did you seriously mean it when you said I could sleep over?”

Naruto pursed his lips. “I did.”

“Okay,” said Sasuke, getting off the floor and dusting his pants off, “I’ll hold you to it then. I’m going to wash up and then come over. Does that sound good?”

“Sasuke—”

“—And stop treating me any different because you’re embarrassed. It’s fine, it’s not a big deal. You’re the one making a mountain out of a molehill. I’ll see you later, Naruto.”

Shikamaru was lounging by Sasuke’s door when Sasuke left Naruto’s room. “You made up then?” he drawled.

“There was nothing to make up for in the first place.”

“Okay, just checking,” Shikamaru said, and that was that.

* * *

Sasuke insisted Naruto share the bed with him.

“It’s like training,” he said calmly, “If you have me, the man of your dreams—”

“—Sasuke, I swear I’m going to kill you.”

Naruto was dutifully setting up his own sleeping quarters on the floor—a heavily padded quilt and a mountain of blankets. Sasuke on the other hand, lounged casually in Naruto’s bed, swaddled in his green duvet, casually flipping through a book which was really just a way for him to observe Naruto’s reactions from his peripheral vision.

“You know what?” Sasuke wondered out loud, “I think this was your plan all along. You tantalize me with an offer to sleep over while I’m emotionally drained from reading valentines—and then you’ll make your move on me. And to think I’m still here despite that. You picked a patient man, Naruto.“

Sasuke could tell he was pissing Naruto off—his motions were stiff and robotic as he smoothed the same blanket down over and over, and his hands were gripping the sheets a little too tightly. He grinned—it was too easy to rile him up. “What a way to seduce a man, Naruto. Did they teach you that back at your old school? Is this how you seduced all the other people you had sex with? Tell them you had dreams about fucking them?”

Naruto looked up. His eyes met Sasuke’s, and Sasuke knew he had pushed just a little too far—something in Naruto snapped. Sasuke’s next snarky comment died in his throat as Naruto stopped messing with the blankets on the floor and stalked to where he was. He crawled into the bed, inching closer, closer, and closer, until he was crowding Sasuke against the wall, body pressed against his, temperature like asphalt at the peak of summer. Sasuke suddenly felt like a mouse that had entered too deep into the fox’s den—Naruto’s expression was serious, determined, and he remembered the fact he had filed away for later—now was the time to recall it apparently, that Naruto was stronger than he was.

A hotness flushed through his entire body. His fingers tingled. Blood shot in an embarrassingly obvious way to his groin. If Naruto wanted, he could pin Sasuke down, and Sasuke could struggle and give him a run for his money, but the end result would be the same. Naruto would be on top of him, solid weight settling in between his thighs, chest to chest—

And in the present, that possibility was becoming more and more likely. Naruto’s face was dangerously close, so close they were practically sharing the same oxygen. Sasuke could see his own reflection in Naruto’s eyes. Their noses almost touched.

Sasuke tried very hard not to lick his lips.

As if time had crawled to a standstill, Naruto’s fingers wrapped around his. Then, they slowly released their grip, and trailed up his arm like they were savoring the feel of his skin—across his shoulder, into his collarbones, stopping against his cheek. Naruto held his palm there, honest eyes still watching Sasuke, staring at him, searching for something. Sasuke’s mind tried fervently to figure out what that something was—he came up short, he couldn’t figure it out—but whatever it was, he hoped to god Naruto would find it in him. He realized the longer they stayed this close to one another that in the select few poor choices Sasuke made during his young lifetime, this one was proving to be the worst.

If Sasuke willed it, he could move a millimeter and they would be kissing. Naruto’s mouth would be on his and he wouldn’t mind it, rather he would press his own against Naruto’s just as earnestly, letting fire and sparks spread between their connection. He would taste Naruto on his tongue, verify with his sight and with his fingertips that the body he had seen in the locker room really was as hard and toned as it looked. And then, if he was lucky, Naruto would reciprocate.

He would slide his tan palms up Sasuke’s shirt, feeling the planes of his body, roaming slowly and with purpose. Sasuke would do the same to him, all the while trading languid, sensual kisses until their clothing would disappear piece by piece. And then, it would be hot skin against hot skin in their never ending battle for dominance. But such things couldn’t happen, as Sasuke was frozen, in the midst between a fight or flight response, his usually quick-witted brain failing him, because for the first time he didn’t have the slightest idea of what to do.

His heart was beating faster than it had when they won the championships.

And then, Naruto got even closer, the space between them was infinitesimal now, and he breathed on his lips which set off firecrackers down Sasuke’s spine. He spoke in a gravely voice that was so unlike what Sasuke was used to hearing. “I’m beggin’ ya, don’t tease me Sasuke...I’m already doing my best to be a southern gentleman by letting ya stay over, but it’s getting hard. That dream was just a dream but if you keep talking like that, I’d be happy to make it a reality for you. Do you understand?”

Sasuke understood. Did Naruto know in the moment though, that Sasuke too would be just as happy if he enacted on his promise? He probably didn’t. So Sasuke didn’t say anything. He just gave the smallest of nods, and Naruto backed up, slid off the bed, and went back to fluffing the blankets on the floor.

“Naruto…” Sasuke started, wanting to say something, yet not knowing what it was.

“Go to sleep Sasuke,” said Naruto. His voice was back to normal. He turned off the lights, and with his back turned to Sasuke, snuggled into his blankets and let the silence settle in the room. Sasuke stared at the ceiling. Even if he wished it, he didn’t think he would be sleeping much that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke: I don't want Naruto to take my virginity
> 
> Me: I dOn'T wANt NaRUtO tO TaKE mY vIRgINitY
> 
> Sasuke: Naruto and I are just friends
> 
> Me: NaRUtO anD I aRe JuSt fRiEnDS


	8. Every Cloud has a Silver Lining—Wait, No, it's Just Shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter is as satisfying for you to read as it was for me to write. ;)

Naruto was grateful Sasuke didn’t bring up what happened that night. Unfortunately, it was just another result of Sasuke not speaking to him much at all.

Sasuke didn’t know that there were feelings behind Naruto’s wet dream—that the dream wasn’t born out of horniness, but from Naruto’s real desire to have that kind of relationship with Sasuke. It had been torture for Naruto, seeing Sasuke in his bed, freshly showered, with his glasses and (still stupid) clips pinning his bangs back. He had almost given into temptation. The goal had been right there. He had touched Sasuke, been close enough to feel the warmth of his skin against his lips, to see the redness on the tips of his ears. Thankfully he hadn’t acted on his instincts but the damage was done.

What should have been a normal night of playful banter had turned into something awkward, and now Naruto wasn’t sure how to act around his best friend—the following morning, Sasuke had slunk out of his room without a word, leaving Naruto nursing what he was sure was a sore heartache.

Naruto inwardly cursed himself. He had been so stupid—he should have never invited Sasuke over, never asked if he was a virgin, never gotten close enough as he did—because after that night, it was all he could think about, even with Sasuke’s silent treatment. When they changed in the locker rooms before and after track practice, he had to purposely look elsewhere, because any additional details about Sasuke—especially how his bare chest glistened with sweat after a workout—would definitely worm themselves into his dreams or his shower fantasies.

And more than once, Naruto remembered why it had rattled his bones so much when Sasuke read his love letter out loud—it was because he was jealous how those girls could easily pour their feelings out on pages of ink and paper, how they easily dropped words like “love” because it was truly how they felt. Naruto _wished_ he could simply confess he liked Sasuke with some fancy-ass writing. But one, he was a guy, and two, he wasn’t that great at writing, and three, he was _supposedly_ Sasuke’s best friend, so any actions like that were strictly off limits to begin with.

What they were going through was a repeat of the Hinata situation, except this time, Naruto knew what he had done wrong and it was his fault. At least Sasuke wasn’t being mean to him—just that their conversations were limited now, and out of respect, Naruto didn’t visit his room anymore. They stopped being gym partners, which Coach Gai was left so surprised by that he lost his toothy smile for a few minutes. Any study sessions were done in the library, with Neji taking the brunt of the task to teach Naruto calculus. Sasuke never joined them.

Naruto’s mind was so clearly elsewhere during track practice that Shino pulled him aside to ask if he was okay. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that he and Sasuke were currently going through a rough patch in their friendship. He settled for lying and just saying he was in a funk—which wasn’t entirely untrue.

“We all have times like that,” his tacturn friend said, “I hope you feel better, Naruto.”

Yeah, Naruto hoped so too.

He didn’t really have anyone who he could talk to candidly about how he was feeling. He wanted someone who could understand, who was close enough to Sasuke, who had watched him just as much as he had. He doubted there was a single person at Konoha Preparatory who had spent as much time as he had with his one-sided crush. However, there was a certain individual in Naruto’s class who was probably the closest person who could empathize.

Naruto hoped she would help.

They were dissecting a pig’s head in Biology class when Naruto brought it up. He was dressed head to toe in a white lab coat and his head hurt from the goggles. Sakura, who was his lab partner (assigned, not prearranged), was dressed the same— but unlike him, she pulled the look off quite well. They worked silently for the first half, Sakura sending him some concerned glances because Naruto was never quiet—he was always prepared to make a comment, or to insert some lame jokes. The scalpel in her hand was making a precise incision when Naruto couldn’t hold it in anymore and finally blurted out what he wanted to ask.

“How did you know you liked Sasuke?” The words, finally released from their prison, loosened the anxious knot in his belly.

“...Whatever do you mean?” Her shoulders relaxed since he had finally said something, but her hands didn’t stop moving. The cut was clean, and she wiped the tool on a cloth before taking some scissors from the tray.

“I mean, ya like him right?” he asked. “How did you know you liked him?”

She huffed and blew a strand of pink hair out of her face, scissors poised to cut more of the pig. “I knew I liked him when I liked him. I wanted to be around him all the time. I thought he was cute. I wanted him to kiss me. Does that sound about right to you? Seriously Naruto, do you have to ask things like that? What’s bringing this on, anyways?”

Naruto fidgeted. “So this may be news to you, as much as it’s news to me...but I might like him too.”

Sakura almost dropped her scissors. She fumbled them once, twice, and caught them. Then, she shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing and resumed the dissection. “Don’t pull my leg like that. I know my crush on Sasuke has been the butt of a handful of jokes already, but this takes the cake.”

“Except I’m not joking,” he said. “I seriously might like him. Like, a lot.”

“And you’re telling me this because...?”

“Because you’re probably the only person who understands how I feel right now.”

She looked at the lab sheet, then at the half-dissected pig, then at Naruto. “You’re serious.”

“Dead.”

“Okay.” Sakura continued snipping. “Okay. I mean, I don’t know what to tell you. You’ve been around him long enough to see how he is. It’s hard for him to get close to people.”

“Yeah,” said Naruto, “I know.”

“And he can be kind of an asshole. A good looking, smart asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And you’re sure you like him?”

“I mean, I think about that stuff you talked about like...all the time. So I guess.”

“For how long?” she asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. “Probably since the championships. Maybe even earlier. Who knows,” he sighed. She nudged him for another tool and he passed her a small saw. She took it and began cutting away at the bone.

Sakura hummed to herself. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know if I should. Our friendship is already weird right now...I don’t want to make it worse. And what if he doesn't take me seriously? Or…” Naruto swallowed. “What if he hates me afterwards?”

“Sasuke’s not that kind of person,” Sakura said, “And you know that. He’s blunt but he would never be purposely hurtful. If it makes you feel better, out of everyone you probably have the highest chance of success. He likes you as a person already. And I already confessed to him and he rejected me.”

Naruto didn’t know that. “When did you ask him?”

“Before finals last semester.”

“And you still like him? Even though he turned you down? And even though you know he’s an asshole?”

“Yes, I do.” She smiled. “Love makes people stupid, doesn’t it?”

And once the words left Sakura’s mouth, Naruto knew. He knew that this wasn’t a normal crush. A normal crush was what he had felt for Sakura, bothering her, occasionally commenting on how nice she looked, praising her wits and sharp brain. His crush on Sasuke was all-consuming. It ate away at his insides like lava against glass. All of his thoughts centered on Sasuke—what he was doing, where he was, who he was with—if he thought Naruto was a good teammate, if he thought Naruto was fast, if he thought Naruto was cute.

He liked the way the left corner of Sasuke’s lip turned up before the right one did when he smiled. He liked the way Sasuke would sigh when he noticed Naruto solve a problem incorrectly, but spent the time to teach him how to do it anyways. He liked the way Sasuke ran on the field and on the track, graceful and fluid, with his purple hair clips flopping in the wind. He liked everything about Sasuke.

No, it was more than that. It was much, much more than that.

He wanted to be around Sasuke always. He wanted to go to college with Sasuke. He wanted them to live in the same dorm again. He wanted Sasuke close to him, close enough to hold, close enough to kiss, close enough to bind him for all eternity. He wanted to hold Sasuke’s hand in the sweltering summer heat and in the chilly winter wind. He wanted them to go on walks together, and do cheesy shit like feed the ducks in the pond, or ride horses on his godfather’s ranch. He wanted Sasuke to laugh like he did when they won the Land of Fire championships, smile spreading ear to ear, face flushed red in excitement and happiness.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life chasing after him on the soccer field, receiving his passes, and passing to him in turn. He wanted them to be together, either forever, or how ever long the heavens would allow.

He wanted him in all these ways and all these situations because Naruto didn’t just like him—he loved him, and in the only way he could—passionately, whole-heartedly, honestly.

Sakura noticed his silence and patted him gently on the back. “You alright there?”

“Yeah,” he croaked. “I am.” When he grinned at her next, it felt watery. “You’re really nice, you know that Sakura? It’s no wonder I liked you first. Thanks for helping me and for uh...not judging me.”

She smiled and turned her attention back to the lab table. “Of course, Naruto. We’re friends. That's what friends do.”

* * *

Naruto realized he loved Sasuke. That was a start. What he didn’t quite know was where to go from there.

Because, the subject of his affection was still doing some sort of crazy deflection dance. Naruto would try to talk to him one on one and he would say he was busy. Naruto would track him down after practice and he would zip out of the locker rooms like he was late for a plane ride. There was no other way to put it—Sasuke was avoiding him again. But this time, he wasn’t mean about it, rather every time Naruto caught him for a brief second, he seemed _nervous_.

It didn’t go unnoticed. Lee was practically a mess trying to figure out what was going on. Their relay races were still impeccable, they hadn’t lost a single one—yet it was clear as day that Naruto and Sasuke, best friends extraordinaire, were playing some sort of cat and mouse game which neither were voluntary participants.

Eventually, the strained air between them was too much to ignore and their friends took it upon themselves to stage an intervention. They were gathered in the library, sans Sasuke, when Shikamaru led the charge and addressed the elephant in the room. He was as tactical as a bull in a china shop.

“What the fuck is the deal between you and Sasuke?”

Naruto’s head shot up from the textbook he was reading. “What? Nothing. Nothing’s going on between me and Sasuke.”

“Such a fucking lie,” said Kiba, “You guys have been ignoring eachother and making all of us feel hella awkward. None of us know what’s going on. Are you guys fighting? Did someone die?”

“Naw, no one died,” mumbled Naruto.

“So you guys are fighting then. Again.”

Naruto sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t say we’re fighting...rather—Sasuke’s kind of...avoiding me? He probably doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.” And who would blame him? After Naruto had nearly jumped him when he slept over, it was the natural consequence.

Pining after Sasuke was such a chore. Naruto just _had_ to fall in love with someone who probably would never like him back.

It sucked balls.

Kiba snorted. “Well that’s about the dumbest shit I ever heard. Sasuke’s always asking about you when he talks to us. Conveniently, always when you’re not there. Like ‘how’s Naruto doing with his calculus problems?’ Or ‘I saw he was limping a bit after the relay race yesterday, can you bring him some ice?’ Or ‘Does Naruto know that I’m asking about him? Don’t say anything or I’ll cut your dick off.’ Basically, I’m risking getting my dick cut off here by telling you, so you’re gonna need to give me _something_.”

Naruto was confused. And shocked. But mostly confused. Sasuke was asking about him? Why would Sasuke ask about him? Unless...he still cared? There was a tiny bit of hope which blossomed in his chest—it was possible Sasuke still thought their friendship important—that Sasuke was still looking after him, even when he was dodging Naruto at every corner. But it was strange then, he thought, as to why he was doing this from the shadows. Naruto hadn’t the slightest idea what Sasuke was thinking. He hoped this wasn’t just another misunderstanding he wasn’t privy to.

Neji thankfully added more sound advice than Kiba’s comment. “Naruto, whatever situation is going on between you and Sasuke, you are not obligated to share. Nor will we judge you for not sharing.” Here, he glared pointedly at Kiba. “We’re just perplexed, you could say, because you both seem to care quite a bit about your relationship, but neither of you are appropriately conveying that sentiment.”

Naruto let his head fall on to the table with a thunk. Neji had said a lot of big words but he caught the general message. “I just don’t know what to do,” he said. Lee began rubbing a soothing circle on his back.

“Just tell us what the fuck’s going on so we can help you,” said Kiba.

Naruto gulped and screwed his eyes shut. Telling his friends was something he had never considered, simply because he thought they’d never believe him. Or they’d view him differently because he wanted to chase after a person who didn’t have bouncing tits and a vagina. Namely, their soccer captain. But as Lee continued to rub circles on his back, and he sat in the warm silence that was built on his friends’ concern, Naruto said quietly, “I think I love Sasuke.”

His friends looked like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. When Naruto didn’t say anything else, their eyes quickly darted between each other, and once more, Shikamaru was deemed their spokesperson.

Shikamaru cleared his throat. “What?”

Naruto sat up. “I think I love Sasuke,” he repeated, and this time his voice came out strong.

“We already knew that though,” said Shikamaru. “So just get to the meat of the problem and tell us why you’re acting like pansies.”

If Naruto thought Shikamaru was smart before, it was nowhere close to how he saw him now. “How did you know?”

Kiba answered for him. “You’re seriously as dumb as a bag of rocks sometimes,” he said. “We’ve noticed you’ve been interested in him since we won the championships. You’re always looking at him like you’re DTF.” He paused. “In case you didn’t know, that’s city slang for ‘down to fuck.’”

Jumping off a cliff was preferable to what he was currently enduring.

“I don’t look at Sasuke like that!”

“Sure you don’t.”

Shikamaru clasped his hands behind his head. “So you like Sasuke—”

“No, I love him.”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, “Okay, fine—you _love_ him. Big woop. We get it. We’ve basically known since the sexual tension between you guys is as obvious as a fucking dumpster truck in a kiddie pool. So please explain how Sasuke is clearly _not mad at you_ , and you’re _not mad at him_ , yet you guys _aren’t_ hanging out anymore?” He sounded annoyed.

Naruto didn’t know where to begin. He gulped. This was all spiraling out of control far too quickly for his liking. “Well I can’t speak for Sasuke’s actions...but you know how there was that whole...Valentine’s Day incident? Once I heard about the crazy girls who left those weird gifts...I may or may not have invited him to sleep over in my room.”

Kiba whistled. “Go get ‘em Naruto.”

Naruto wanted to die. “And then after that, I may or may not have made a move on him.”

“How do you ‘kind of’ make a move on someone?”

“Okay—I made a move on him, happy now?” hissed Naruto.

“And then what happened?” asked Neji.

“He slept over. And then he left—Kiba, don’t fucking look at me like that, nothing happened—and now we’re like this. End of story.”

Shikamaru muttered, “You are both morons. This conversation is over. We’ll talk to Sasuke.”

“He’s going to cut off our dicks if we give him any indication that we talked to Naruto,” Kiba said.

“Not if Lee’s the one giving the news,” said Shikamaru.

Lee, who hadn’t said a word during the entire conversation (which was unusual for him just given Lee’s...nature), looked startled at being called out. “Me? But friends! I do not want my man parts to get cut off! I also have no idea about what I should say! What should I tell Sasuke? Should I plead for him not to cut off my man parts before I tell him anything?”

“He won’t cut off your man parts,” Shikamaru said, “I’ll tell you what to say. I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and its really stupid, which is befitting for the two people involved. Naruto, make sure you keep your Friday night open, and don’t go back to your father’s place this weekend.”

Naruto frowned. “You can’t stop me from seeing my pa.”

“Do you want to make up with Sasuke or not? You can spare a weekend away, daddy’s boy. Now you guys continue studying, I’m going to go take a nap.”

That was Shikamaru’s indication that indeed, their intervention was over, and Naruto was left wondering what his friend had in mind, as well as why Sasuke was acting so strangely when he wasn’t around.

* * *

Shikamaru’s plan was a solid, if somewhat rule-breaking, one. Now that it was mid-march the rain was never ending and muddy boots were the hottest trend at Konoha Preparatory. Naruto was no exception—his bright yellow, frog patterned boots were one of a kind. And it was with those boots, a poncho, and a soccer ball in hand that Naruto confronted Sasuke.

“It’s Friday night, you have nothing planned, so no excuses. I need to talk to you,” said Naruto.

Sasuke fixed his dark eyes on him. “Fine.” Lee had obviously already talked to Sasuke prior, or he wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

It was past curfew when Naruto unlatched the window and jumped through it. They weren’t supposed to be sneaking out of the lowest-story of their dorms to pay a planned visit to the soccer field, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Shikamaru had assured them the field wasn’t being watched by anyone so they wouldn’t be caught. Naruto took his word for it. Rain slightly drizzled against the grass, the wind carrying the slight chill of spring. It reminded Naruto of the weather from their first match against Suna Academy.

While Naruto stood out in the dark field like a traffic light, Sasuke blended into the night. His rain jacket and boots were dark. It only made his face contrast that much whiter.

The soccer area wasn’t lit. There were no goals set up, or inked patterns on the grass. But Naruto knew that field like the back of his hand, knew the moment he stepped into the center and dropped the ball to the ground.

“We’re going to fight this out like a couple of grown-ass men,” Naruto said. “You’re going to tell me how you’re feeling, and I’ll tell you how I’m feeling. And we’ll resolve this.”

Sasuke glanced at the soccer ball. He gave no warning—with a flick of his foot, he took control of it, dodging Naruto’s lunge forward to stop him. Naruto tailed after him as their boots sloshed against the mud—really, running with rainboots was so hard—but he caught up to Sasuke quickly, mirroring his movements until Sasuke was forced to confront him.

“Why are you asking the others about how I’m doing, but are avoiding talking to me?” Naruto asked, taking the investigative lead. He stared at Sasuke, whose bangs were plastered to his face. Rain continued to fall.

“Because I’m constantly thinking about you,” Sasuke replied, jerking left, then right, successfully shaking Naruto off and running with the ball again, “And I feel weird whenever I see your face. I get embarrassed.”

Naruto sprinted forward and used his momentum to slide across the grass. He stole the ball from Sasuke and dribbled it across the field. “Why are you embarrassed?”

“Because I remember what happened on Valentine’s Day. And I remember I almost did something really stupid, so I can’t forget about it.” Now, it was Sasuke chasing after him, kicking one foot forward to try to get in contact with the soccer ball. Naruto side-stepped him.

“You didn’t do anything on Valentine’s Day though. You ran away the next morning. And then, you stopped talking to me.”

“I still talk to you.”

“Not like you used to.”

“I can’t talk to you like I used to without thinking about what I almost did.”

Naruto turned around and kicked the ball to Sasuke. Sasuke caught it with his chest. The mud splattered across his jacket, a little landing on his face, but he didn’t look like he cared. He bounced the ball from his chest to his thigh, then to the ground where he stopped it with his foot. There was an emotion in his eyes, something conflicting, something tender.

Sasuke passed the ball back to him. “You make me feel strange, Naruto. I get nervous when you’re around, which I’m not used to. I need to stay away.”

“I don’t like it when you’re away,” said Naruto.

The wind picked up. The raindrops grew a little larger. Sasuke smiled—left corner of his mouth first, then the right. “You should though. If you knew what I thought about you, you’d understand.”

Naruto was getting the unsettling feeling of dejavu. Except last time, he had been the one in Sasuke’s position. He knew firsthand what Sasuke was feeling, and how deflecting and avoiding was easier than confronting the problem. It was easier, but it wasn’t a solution. It didn’t help.

“I’m your best friend,” said Naruto, “I’ll always understand. And, I should know what you’re thinking, but I don’t. I’m kind of stupid when it comes to things like this, so you’re going to have to tell me.” He passed the ball to Sasuke—rather, kicked it as hard as he could, and Sasuke, the quick-witted, perfect love of his life instantly shot out a foot to prevent it from hitting him in the thigh, and then both of them were chasing after the rogue ball.

It rolled across the muddy field, picking up dirt, dead grass, and rain.

Sasuke and Naruto ran neck-in-neck, cold water dripping over their skin, hoods on their ponchos blown back. Sasuke was always the faster of the two, which Naruto figured was fair since he was stronger, so Sasuke reached the ball first. He did the move that Naruto loved so much, shifting directions so fast that it looked like his ankles would break, and sprinted the opposite way with the ball. Sasuke’s dark boots hid the motion well, but Naruto had seen the move so many times he could never forget it.

“I almost kissed you, Naruto,” said Sasuke quietly, so softly Naruto wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly, as he continued to dribble the ball through the grass. “Your dumbass dream about me—I kept teasing you about it that night. I provoked you so much that I made you upset. And then when you got close to me to tell me off, I wanted to kiss you. I should have been an understanding friend, but instead I played it off like it was nothing because it was easier that way.” He turned around, facing Naruto, the soccer ball motionless and trapped under his foot. “I didn’t want to think about it, but then it was all I could think about. And then every time I looked at you, it just got worse. I would just keep remembering how I almost kissed you and ruined everything. So the reason we’re like this—it’s all on me. It was on purpose. It’s all my fault.”

It was like the rain had fried Naruto’s brain. It was short circuiting. It felt like his neurons were exploding into a million pieces of faulty wiring. Sasuke sullenly kicked the ball to him after he said his piece, but Naruto was so in shock it just rolled slowly past him like a sad, deflated balloon.

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets. “See? I told you that you’d understand why I wanted to stay away. And now you know and we can never go back to the way we were because of it. I hope the soccer exercise was worth it.” His expression betrayed his passive words—Sasuke’s eyes were scrunched up, forlorn and sad. He took Naruto’s silence as an indication his assumption was correct, and stalked away with his shoulders hunched.

Naruto panicked. Sasuke was walking very fast, like he couldn’t wait to get out of the rain, or like he couldn’t wait to get away from Naruto. But they hadn’t finished talking yet—Naruto still hadn't told Sasuke what he wanted to say. And it was important.

“Sasuke! Hold up!” he called out.

“I’m leaving, Naruto.” Sasuke didn't look back at him.

“Sasuke, wait!” he called again, but Sasuke didn’t stop moving, clearly resolved to leave Naruto alone in the field. He knew he should chase after him, prevent him from running away, but his body wouldn’t respond. His limbs were still frozen. The rain beat down harder. His pants were soaked all the way through. He was cold. He wanted Sasuke to look at him again, so Naruto could figure out what that look in his eyes had been, and why it had been so sad.

Sasuke was oblivious to Naruto’s internal struggles and still walking further and further away from him. So, Naruto got his attention the only way he knew how—in a desperate, well aimed kick, he launched the soccer ball into the back of Sasuke’s head. It hit him with a smack and bounced off in a ninety-degree angle, and Sasuke whipped around so fast Naruto thought he would break his neck.

“The fuck was that for!?” Sasuke yelled, storming back.

Okay, the tactic was successful but now Sasuke was angry. Naruto could work with that. “You were leaving,” he said simply.

“Yeah you dolt—because we were finished talking! Because I was—and still am—fucking embarrassed as shit! You don’t just _punt_ soccer balls like that without warning someone first!”

“I called you back and you still kept walking—I thought ‘twas warning enough,” said Naruto.

“You’re—you’re fucking incorrigible, Naruto! Nothing you do makes sense—why can’t you just stay away?” asked Sasuke, raising his voice. “I told you I can’t _be_ around you anymore! You’re always fucking _chasing me_ , always sticking your dumb nose in things even when I tell you not to—for once in your life can you just listen to me and leave me alone!?”

“No, I can’t,” Naruto replied just as loudly, “Because you’re _shit_ at communicating and you never say how you really feel unless I pry it out of you with a fucking _pickaxe_. So I’ll chase after you, over and over and over again, as many times as I have to, until I get the truth out of you.”

“You want the truth, Naruto? You’d burn our friendship to the ground if you knew!” yelled Sasuke. “I’d rather fight with you, be angry with you, have you think I’m the biggest dickhead on the planet than have you hate me!”

“Well you’re a fucking _idiot_ then,” Naruto yelled back, “I’ll throw your words right back at you—for once, if you just _listened to me_ instead of assuming things, maybe we wouldn’t keep fighting all the time! Because, earth to Sasuke—if you haven’t realized by now, your big ass brain ain’t _shit_ when it comes to figuring out emotions!”

Sasuke snarled. “You think you’re real smart, huh Naruto? Think you have me all figured out?” He was close—finally, _finally_ Sasuke had let his guard down, as he always did when they exchanged barbs like that—Naruto was grateful that old habits were hard to forget.

“No you turd, you’re a fucking mystery to me all the time,” Naruto ground out, “I’ve tried, but I can’t read your shitty mixed signals. So I actually _don’t_ have anything figured out until you tell me—which is, surprise surprise, why the both of us are standing in the soccer field at 11pm, when it’s raining harder than a cow pissin’ on a flat rock!”

And now Sasuke was bristling, he was fuming—probably because Naruto’s words had hit hard and true, and he didn’t want to face his mistakes. He stepped into Naruto’s personal space, seething like a drenched cat and looking so attractive Naruto could die. “Then what should I have done? Huh, Naruto? Tell me what I should have done. Should I have acted like everything was normal? Been there, done that. Should I have gotten mad at you again like I did when I thought you were dating Hinata? Played that card already. If you’re so smart and emotionally _attuned_ to your _feelings,_ why don’t you tell me how I should have fucking _acted_ around you when I keep having these goddamn urges? Because even now—guess what, Naruto—I still don’t fucking _know!_ ”

And this was it. This was the chance Naruto had been waiting for. The chance where Sasuke was close enough that he couldn’t run away, where the both of them could finally resolve everything. “You should have kissed me,” Naruto breathed.

Sasuke hissed. “What?”

“You should have kissed me,” Naruto repeated, and then he grabbed a fistful of Sasuke’s rain-drenched poncho and crushed their mouths together.

Sasuke’s lips were cold but his breaths were really, really warm. And Naruto hoped to whatever higher power existed that he was doing the right thing, that he had made the right assumptions because now that he had tasted Sasuke, he didn’t know if he could go back to a world without it. Naruto kissed him, hard, as rain continued to pelt their lone figures on the soccer practice field, and he tried to convey just what he had agonized over—tried to tell Sasuke how happy, how utterly ecstatic he was that his feelings were reciprocated. It was more than Naruto had dared to hope for, and had not been high on his list of possible outcomes from their late night rendezvous. But now that it had happened, Naruto wanted to savor it. He wanted to remember the moment for years to come, wanted to memorize every sensation, even the scent of the earth, to further solidify the memory of the first time he had kissed his first love.

When they broke apart, Naruto realized Sasuke hadn’t kissed him back. That was not a good sign. For one short, terrifying moment, Naruto feared the worst—that he had been wrong, and Sasuke didn’t like him like that at all. His sudden fear was quickly dismissed however, because then Sasuke whispered lowly, “do that again”, and it was music to his ears as they kissed again, this time with Sasuke initiating contact. It wasn’t the end of it. Their lips made contact again, and again, and again, mouths growing warmer and more urgent under the thundering clouds as Naruto professed his love in muted overtones over and over and over—”I like you, Sasuke, I like you” with each kiss. It was wet, and hot, and cold, and windy, and Naruto wouldn’t trade the moment for the world.

Sasuke's tongue was soft. He kissed like he was desperate, like he had been waiting to kiss Naruto all this time as well. Their teeth clicked against each other once in a while but that was fine, Naruto thought—he could teach Sasuke how to french kiss better. There was plenty of time for practice. He really wouldn't have any ulterior motives. He wouldn't push Sasuke, even though he wanted to ravage him, let his desires and hormones control his actions and strip Sasuke until they were skin to skin and Sasuke was licking into his mouth, dragging his tongue against Naruto's. He wouldn't, even though he wanted to put his hands on Sasuke—any part, really, but his ass had been looking particularly delectable as of late. But it could wait. It could wait. Because for now, Naruto could make do with Sasuke's lips pressing against his with a slow and righteous insistence because his feelings had been returned and Sasuke was finally, _finally_ his, and that was enough. 

They kissed until they both shivered from the cold and called it a night.

The soccer ball lay innocently forgotten as two soaked, dripping teenagers walked with their hands clasped together back to their dormitory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke: I wanted to kiss you.  
> Naruto: *doing mental gymnastics* *insert meme of that math thinking lady with all the geometric symbols in the background* 
> 
> FINALLY! We did it, fam. Imagine reaching this glorious moment after 7 chapters of grueling slow burn. Beautiful. Stupendous. *slow clap*


	9. A Penny for Your Thots

It turned out that dating Naruto didn’t change their relationship by much. They still hung out, had meals together, beat the shit out of the other relay race teams, and demolished anyone who went against them during gym class. Their friends all breathed a sigh of relief. Coach Gai looked like he could cry. The school had exploded in an uproar when they first walked through campus with their hands intertwined, but that too quickly died down. Things finally returned to normal.

There was one thing, however, that did change.

“Nghhh...Naruto…”

Sasuke knew they should probably stop making out because they were supposed to be studying, but Naruto was just _so good_ at pulling him in, and Sasuke never had the heart to refuse. Naruto’s mouth was soft and pliant against his own, and the way he trailed his hands along Sasuke’s sides was utterly delectable. Naruto didn’t seem to mind that they weren’t getting any work done. Likewise, Sasuke also didn’t give two shits about the test he had later that week either because it was going to be easy as hell. Plus, what they were currently doing was preferable to studying anyways.

Their homework lay incomplete on Sasuke’s table.

“Fuck, Sasuke—you can’t keep making noises like that, yer gonna drive me crazy,” Naruto whispered before going in for another kiss.

Sasuke met him halfway. Over the past few weeks he had learned to be more bold, and now he was able to slide his tongue against Naruto’s without flushing to the tips of his ears. It was never enough, though. Sasuke wanted to plaster himself across Naruto. He wanted them to be so close to one another that every limb of theirs would be in contact. He wanted their hands to mold onto hot skin, grappling for purchase as they kissed deeper and deeper. He did the best he could under the circumstances, wrapping his arms around Naruto’s neck and crawling into his lap.

Naruto eagerly grabbed Sasuke’s hips to pull him closer, and then did Sasuke’s favorite thing—he pushed both calloused hands up his shirt.

“Mmmm,” Sasuke hummed, showing his approval by nibbling Naruto’s lip.

Naruto’s hands explored for a bit, flattening against his stomach, his chest, raking blunt nails against Sasuke’s spine. It was times like these that made Sasuke appreciate Naruto’s sexual experience, because each touch was like sunspots against his skin, flaring and sizzling and dangerously hot. Sasuke did the same to Naruto, hoping it felt just as good to him. Naruto’s body was all hard, lean muscle from sports, and Sasuke gently pressed his fingertips into his sides. Naruto groaned into his mouth and his hands roamed down to Sasuke’s thighs. When he gently kneaded the muscles there, Sasuke’s blood instantly traveled to his groin. Their breaths were getting shorter, their kisses sloppier, like they couldn’t get enough of each other’s mouths. Sasuke debated whether or not he should initiate something further. The decision was easily made for him—the hardness in his pants was getting hard to ignore—so he went for it.

Sasuke ground his hips down.

“Shit,” Naruto hissed. He bucked up to meet him and Sasuke felt something poke the inside of his thigh.

Naruto was rock hard too.

Sasuke swore under his breath, stifling any further sounds by biting Naruto’s exposed collarbone—he was more turned on than he had ever been in his life. He hurriedly grabbed the hem of Naruto’s shirt and pulled it off. They had seen each other’s naked torsos in their...activities before—but that didn’t prevent Sasuke from touching his boyfriend all over once his chest was on full display—just as muscular and tan as he remembered.

“Off, off,” he demanded, and Naruto happily obliged, stripping Sasuke as well in a fluid motion. Now that they were both equally undressed, Sasuke pulled Naruto closer so their chests were flush against each other, and he swore he could feel both their hearts beating in time. Naruto rocked his hips against Sasuke. Sasuke was cognizant, if only barely, of their dicks being separated by only a select few layers of clothing. It felt good—it felt way too good, doing things like horny teenageers, like kissing spit-covered lips, running hands over sweaty skin, and rutting against one another.

It was only when Naruto began sucking on his neck, and Sasuke let out the most _unbecoming_ noise, did Naruto reluctantly stop.

“We should slow down,” he panted, although his hands were still positioned very close to Sasuke’s butt.

Sasuke brushed his sweaty bangs out of his face. “Fuck. You serious?”

“Yeah, we should slow down.”

They’d gone further and further with each meeting, and Sasuke was aching for it—but neither of them had the gall to reach past the barrier that was the waistband of their pants. Sasuke understood, then, that if he wasn’t courageous enough to get there now, then he wasn’t prepared for what was likely to come after that.

Which was sex. In which he would _probably_ be the one getting fucked. Meaning, Naruto’s dick would be inside his asshole. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about being in a lesser position of power, but more likely than not once they got down to it he would be more willing to entertain the idea. He probably wouldn’t even care, as long as Naruto kept doing the things he liked with his tongue and hands. But the time still hadn’t come yet and per the usual, Naruto knew him better than he knew himself sometimes, so he sighed and put his shirt back on.

“Sorry,” Naruto grinned, turning his shirt right side in and pulling it over his head as well, “I want it too. Real bad. But we can’t go there yet.”

Sasuke stared blankly at him. “It’s because I’m a virgin, isn’t it? You don’t want to take my virginity?”

“No!” Naruto blurted out, “Definitiely _not it_ Sasuke, fuck—I would love to pop your cherry, that’s not—that’s not—”

Sasuke smirked. “I’m just pulling your leg. I understand, idiot. Best friend, remember?”

“Boyfriend,” Naruto corrected, “And best friend.”

“Yeah yeah, my bad.” He scooted off Naruto’s lap and went back to his original spot at the table. Naruto sat cross-legged, still evidently hard by the tent poking up in his sweatpants, and nudged a knee against Sasuke’s.

“I think now is a good time to ask for a praise upgrade,” he said, “To help me study better.”

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? Since when did you deserve an upgrade?”

“Since our relationship got upgraded. Part of the package deal.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Five kisses. Each time I do well, I get five kisses.”

“Two.”

“Four.”

“Two.”

“Three? Please, Sasuke.”

“Two.”

Naruto sighed. “You drive a hard bargain, but fine—two kisses.”

“I knew you’d see things my way,” said Sasuke, grabbing his glasses from the tabletop. “Now get back to work—you’ve still got a problem set left, and I have to get to bed soon.”

Naruto pouted—a tactic which unfortunately worked very well on Sasuke, and said, “Can I sleep over?”

“No Naruto, you can’t,” Sasuke said, “You remember what happened last time, right?”

Naruto, giddy at the prospect of sleeping over in Sasuke’s dorm, had shown up with his classically hideous pajama set. Sasuke had rolled his eyes and let him in, but was also secretly excited—he had wanted to spend more time with Naruto and a sleepover had sounded perfect. They had both fallen asleep after talking way past midnight. But then Sasuke had been unceremoniously woken up in his pitch-black room with a half-erect penis wedged in his ass, and the owner of said-penis panting on his neck as he humped him. Sasuke had almost lost it, woken Naruto up, and demanded that they consummate their relationship then and there. It had been dangerous for the both of them, so Sasuke made a promise to himself that for the time being, sharing a bed was strictly off-limits.

“I can bring some blankets over and sleep on the floor,” Naruto whined, “Please?”

“No, because you’ll look like a poor, abandoned puppy at the foot of its master’s bed. I’d be unable to resist that and invite you to sleep with me, which would in turn bring us back to the last time you slept over,” said Sasuke. “You can’t sleep over, period.”

“Woof. Hardass.”

“Still a hard ass you’d like to fuck,” said Sasuke automatically.

Naruto winked roguishly in full admission. “You don’t know the least of it. Keep talking like that, Sasuke,” he drawled. “Keep that confidence while ya still got it. Once we get to that point you’ll be singing a different tune because I’ll be making you _beg for it_. Enjoy it while it lasts.” He whistled to himself, and then opened a textbook like nothing had happened.

Once in a while, Naruto would pull shit like that. He would say something that was so out of the blue and unexpected that Sasuke couldn’t react properly, except for sitting tight-lipped, ears bright red. Naruto’s choice selection of the word “beg” echoed in Sasuke’s mind, making him both embarrassed and slightly defensive. He wouldn’t be begging for anything. He had never begged for anything since the day he was born. It wasn’t in his nature, and not even Naruto could break that part of him. If anything, Naruto would be the one begging Sasuke.

If Itachi had been there to observe, he probably would have reminded Sasuke not to count his chickens before they hatched.

* * *

Spring was in full bloom at Konoha Preparatory. The track team had won enough individual medals to cover several square feet. Lee had been so happy about their success that he made Naruto and Sasuke swear to return during spring of next year. Sasuke “promised”, which was really just a way of saying he used some vague, nondescript language that didn’t agree nor disagree with Lee’s request. Naruto had easily given Lee a high five and told him he wouldn’t miss it for the world. With those ties in place, the track and field season ended quietly and Sasuke finally had time to relax.

In other news, the student council committee had taken it upon themselves to decorate the school in anticipation of prom: the largest waste of money Sasuke had ever seen thrown for a party. The event was even more ostentatious than homecoming was because for the graduating class, it was always their last hurrah; and each group always competed to outdo that last. For the current year, crepe flowers and streamers littered the walls and windows, likely handmade by the top art designers in the country, and someone had set off a glitter bomb in the east stairwell (either as a prank or out of desire to create a giant art project resembling a pink disco ball). The council had far too much money than they knew what to do with and making the school look like the inside of a floral magazine was a simple solution. The hallways were transformed into lavish photo backgrounds. Enough prom-posals had occurred over the past week to last Sasuke a lifetime. He wrinkled his lip. It was garish and tacky.

And even though Sasuke was _obviously taken_ , and _obviously not one to go to dances_ , girls still asked him to prom. Every. Single. Fucking. Day. He was polite as he could be, because he didn’t need any upset princesses crying to their daddies about how Sasuke was a bad man, but he was growing increasingly irritated. If he had things his way, he would have snapped with some particularly uncouth word choices—but he was better than that, so he shouldered their advances with as much tact as he could.

“I’m dating someone,” he bit out at one particularly persistent girl. This was the third time she had walked up to him to try her luck—he didn’t know why she kept expecting a different answer.

She looked offended, as she had been the last two times he rejected her. “You mean Naruto? But you don’t _really_ like him like that, do you? It’s just a ruse to get the girls off your back?”

“No,” he said bluntly, “I’m really dating him, and I do really like him like that.”

“Then why aren’t you going to prom with him? If he doesn’t ask you to prom, that means you’re open for others,” she said.

Sasuke rubbed his temples. The logic of the rich was incomprehensible at times. “No, no it doesn’t. And I don’t need to explain to anyone why Naruto hasn’t asked me, nor I him. It’s none of your business.”

“I’ll try again tomorrow,” she said.

“Please don’t,” Sasuke replied.

“Please don’t what?” said Naruto, popping up behind them. He wrapped an arm around Sasuke’s waist. Sasuke had never been happier to see his boyfriend.

“Quick, ask me to prom,” he said.

Naruto gave him a funny look. “I thought you didn’t want to go to prom?”

“I don’t. But I need to be off the market, so ask me. Now.”

Naruto was still clearly confused but acquiesced to his demand. “Uh, will you go to prom with me?”

“Perfect. Yes, I will. There,” he said to the girl, who’s eyes were wide in shock over their flagrant display of PDA, “I’m taken. Don’t ask me again.”

She walked away with a huff.

Naruto rubbed his thumb on Sasuke’s hip. “What was that about?”

“Some people still don’t understand that I’m in a relationship,” Sasuke said. “Thankfully we cleared that up, and now that you’ve asked me, hopefully it's enough of a deterrent to keep people away.”

“So you made me ask you because you needed a girl to get off your back,” Naruto said, amused. “And here I thought you were asking me out on a date.”

“You know me and my history of school dances,” Sasuke said.

“But if I really did ask, would ya go with me?”

Sasuke blinked. “To prom?”

Naruto squeezed his hand. “Yeah. To prom. Kind of wanna show you off sometimes, yanno? You clean up nice.”

“You’re joking,” said Sasuke.

“Naw, not really. I actually did want to ask you but I didn’t know how, since you don’t like big displays and stuff. Ya made my job a bit easier,” Naruto said. Sasuke could tell Naruto really wanted to go with him, and it was cute—but dressing up seemed like such a hassle.

He shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”

“What’ll make you consider it for real?” asked Naruto.

Sasuke thought for a second. “If you get an A on your next calculus test,” he said. “I’ll go if you get an A.”

Naruto gave him a dopey grin that turned Sasuke’s insides to mush. “Okay.”

It was a task that was just like Sasuke’s resolve to go to a school dance. Possible, but unlikely. If Naruto really wanted Sasuke to go to prom with him, he would have to work for it. Never mind that Sasuke would probably agree to go as long as Naruto really wanted him to—it was a chance for Naruto to prove his dedication to the cause. And, Sasuke was getting sick of people telling him he was too good, too smart, too _whatever_ for Naruto. They didn’t know anything. They didn’t see how much hard work his boyfriend put in behind the scenes, how altruistic he was, how kindly he treated others. If anything, it was that Naruto was too good for someone like Sasuke. Straightforward and honest, and always true to himself, even when that persona didn’t fit into a cookie-cutter mold for the rich and powerful.

Sasuke wanted Naruto to get a top score in calculus so he could put those naysayers in the dirt. And by god, if it took Sasuke working his own ass off until he coughed up blood, then so be it.

Thankfully, Sasuke didn’t have to put too much effort in—on all accounts, Naruto threw himself into their study sessions together after school. He was so focused he only spoke to Sasuke when absolutely necessary, whether that was to ask a question, or to verify an answer. While Sasuke was proud of his boyfriend’s dedication, he also felt annoyed, because Naruto hadn’t needed Sasuke’s attention for anything else. Even when Sasuke would sneakily take his hand and put it on his knee, Naruto would just give his leg a couple of gentle pats and then go back to doing problem sets. Sasuke had no one to blame but himself for the situation—it appeared Naruto _really_ wanted to go to prom with him, so he had no choice but to lie in the bed that he made and hope that Naruto’s exam ended successfully.

He needn’t have worried. Naruto bounded up to him a week after taking his test, and shoved a paper in his face.

There was a big, fat, 95 circled in red ink at the top. Sasuke thought he would be surprised, but he wasn’t.

“Told ya I could do it, ya turd,” said Naruto smugly. “Guess who has to go to prom with me now?”

“Me, I suppose,” said Sasuke. “Seems like I’m experiencing many firsts after hanging out with you for so long. Just no matching or any shit like that.”

“Aw, you don’t want to wear an orange suit?” asked Naruto innocently.

Sasuke pretended to retch into a trash can. Naruto punched him in the shoulder.

“If you wear an orange suit, I’m revoking your right to be my date,” said Sasuke.

“Nah, don’t worry, even _I_ know that’s a fashion faux pas,” said Naruto. “I’ll dress nice. But matching ties, at least? Please?”

Sasuke sighed. “Fine, but no frog print.”

* * *

Sasuke wasn’t used to being wooed. He was used to being pursued, chased, annoyed, aggravated, stalked, among other things—but not wooed. Naruto however, enjoyed lavishing attention on his new partner. What Naruto lacked in social standing, he made up for with effortless charm and romantic gestures, all which would have put any southern belle swoon. Sasuke was not a southern belle nor one for swooning, however to say Naruto’s attention to detail had no effect on him would’ve been ridiculously false.

Because Naruto knew Sasuke better than Sasuke knew himself, he knew what he liked. And Sasuke, underneath his hard exterior of aloofness, liked being wooed.

Naruto showed up with a beautiful bouquet—not filled with flowers, but with leaves and pine sprigs. It smelled nice. That was the only reason why Sasuke kept it in his room, even after all the leaves dried out.

Naruto claimed he had no ulterior motive when he rubbed Sasuke’s shoulders after a particularly rough night of studying. Sasuke let him, not because he enjoyed it, but because having stiff shoulders was never a good thing.

Naruto took him to meet his pa after they had been dating for a month. Sasuke wanted to see if Naruto took after his father, so he went. He definitely hadn’t been looking forward to it, and he hadn’t been nervous. And it turned out, while Naruto didn’t look like his father, there was one thing that they did share—the same warm smile.

And Naruto kept wooing Sasuke, with stupid stuff like his favorite tomato-flavored chips, a manual on soccer tactics, and a picnic in the gardens. Sasuke would never admit it, but each time Naruto pulled a stunt his heart pounded like a jackhammer. It was both cringey and flattering. He, of course, did his best to return the favor, but it never quite met up to Naruto’s grandiose displays of affection. Their friends teased and cajoled, called them lovebirds, an old married couple—but they didn’t know they were right on the money. Sasuke was falling harder and harder for his best friend. It was stupid.

And when the evening of prom rolled around, and Naruto knocked on his dormitory door with a fresh undercut and a sleek navy tux, Sasuke tried his best not to gulp.

“You look decent,” he managed to say.

“That’s it?” said Naruto, frowning as he touched the shorter sides of his head. “That’s all yer gonna say? Ya don’t like the new cut?”

“I like the new cut, and the tuxedo,” said Sasuke. “Don’t read more into it—if I say you look decent, then you look decent.”

“Yeah, forgot you were bad with compliments,” snorted Naruto. Then, he took the time to eye Sasuke up and down, checking him out thoroughly. Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and smirked. He had put even more effort in for prom than he had for Ino’s soirée.

“You like what you see?” he asked.

Naruto wolf-whistled and grinned cheekily. “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. You look finer than a frog’s hair split four ways.”

“That sounds even worse than my compliment,” said Sasuke.

“Naw, trust me, it’s a good thing. Just one little fix.” Naruto took a red tie from his breast pocket and looped it around Sasuke’s neck. He was wooing again, probably without even being aware of it—Sasuke didn’t know how it was possible for a teenager to act so smoothly. “Doesn’t quite match mine,” Naruto said, indicating the blue one he proudly sported, “But I figured if we had opposite pocket squares we could still look like we were together. Is that fine with you?”

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto’s fingers deftly looped Sasuke’s tie into a knot, and when it was all said and done, he gently yanked on it to pull him in for a kiss. “I could get used to this,” he murmured, sliding a pocket square into Sasuke’s hand, “Having you be mine, an’ all.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to fight the flush creeping up his ears. “Don’t you ever get embarrassed saying that kind of stuff?” he asked.

“It gets you riled up and your ears turn red, which is pretty cute, so not really,” said Naruto. He held his arm out for Sasuke to take. “M’lady.”

Sasuke slapped it out of the way. “No, you take my arm,” he said, extending his own.

Naruto’s eyes twinkled. “Whatever m’lady wants.”

“I hate you so much.”

Konoha Preparatory had pulled out all the stops for prom. The grand ballroom looked even better (of course, that was subjective) than it had for homecoming—it was even more glamorous, sparkly, and garish. The grounds were alight with strings of fairy-lights. The student council had wrangled a set of fountains that definitely hadn’t been there before. Thousands upon thousands of flowers bloomed in large arches across the main entryway and covered the entire ceiling of the ballroom, reflecting the sparkles from the dangling chandeliers. The centerpiece for the dessert table was an ice sculpture of two diving swans. It was larger than a horse. The entire setup of prom was a simply a flagrant display of monetary power.

Those who had gotten there first were already mingling in some sort of non-alcoholic cocktail hour. Sasuke spotted Shikamaru and Neji deep in conversation, and off in the corner he saw Lee animatedly talking to Sakura who looked like she would rather be somewhere else entirely. Several other students had already filed into the ballroom to dance, but it appeared most of the crowd was outside, so Sasuke grabbed some sparkling waters for himself and Naruto and found a chair near the fountains.

“Damn, sometimes I forget how rich ya’ll are,” said Naruto, taking a seat and gawking at the transformed area.

“You’re rich too, or else you wouldn’t have been able to go to school here,” said Sasuke. He passed Naruto his drink.

“Yeah, but you know me, still can’t get used to this fancy stuff sometimes,” Naruto admitted. He took a sip and spat out the drink. “The hell’s this? Tastes worse than cat piss,” he complained, eyeing his glass warily.

“It’s sparkling water,” said Sasuke.

“Sparkling _my ass_. I’m going to get something else—oi—you there, can you get me a lemonade?” The bartender that Naruto called to nodded, and disappeared to get him a new drink.

Sasuke chuckled. “I suppose I should have seen that coming. Here, pass me your glass—I’ll drink it.”

“Sasuke, it's so early in the night and you’re already double fisting?” Naruto chortled. “Ya wild.” Then, he whispered, “But seriously, if you want a drink sometime later, I’ve got a flask in my breast pocket.”

“Another thing I should have seen coming. Maybe when it gets later in the night, we can find some place to hide out in and drink.”

“Just like old times?” Naruto asked, nudging him with his foot.

“Just like old times.” Sasuke agreed, nudging him back.

Naruto leaned in to kiss him, slow and soft. “Have I ever mentioned how much I like you?”

“Once or twice,” Sasuke said, returning the kiss.

With Naruto by his side, prom wasn’t an entirely unpleasant experience. Sasuke allowed himself to get whisked around by Lee after he had taken enough swigs out of Naruto’s flask to start dancing. He had almost dislocated his shoulder, but Lee had looked so happy he found he didn’t mind too much. Neji and Naruto had been the unlikely pair that evening. Neji had been stiff as a rod, and Naruto had waved his arms like an octopus—all in all their actions combined to form a discombobulated jig. Luckily Kiba joined in shortly after, executing a fancy breakdance which ended in a handstand. _That_ had gotten a lot of attention from the girls.

Sasuke had briefly left Naruto’s side to dance with Sakura, who had become exceedingly less annoying after he and Naruto had started dating. During literature class, she would only initiate contact when necessary, and let go of the fake smile from whenever she used to tap his shoulder. She had kept her promise to him from that chilly winter day, and as he spun her around the dance floor that she told him in a factual voice that she was giving up on him. “I can see that you really like Naruto,” she said, “And I’m happy that you’ve found someone who can make you happy.” And Sasuke realized as he responded “thank you”, that he really did mean it.

Naruto danced with everyone. And everyone danced with him. The grin never left his face that evening—he was the eye of the storm, and everyone swirled around him in a vain attempt to be in contact with his light. Sasuke could understand that—his boyfriend was attractive and somehow seemed to be the center of attention wherever he went—but it didn’t stop him from feeling a little jealous. However, when Naruto took his hand and led him in a rather impressive Viennese Waltz, the feeling melted away and all he could focus on was Naruto’s eyes, glimmering like the ocean, the cuffs of his sleeves which had gotten rolled up sometime that evening, and the tender expression on his face like Sasuke was the most important thing in his world.

“Hey,” Naruto said, “I wanted to tell you something. You don’t have to say it back.” He settled a palm on Sasuke’s waist and took the lead as they glided across the floor, steps in time, while he pondered his next words carefully. “I just wanted to say that even though we’re young, and we haven’t known each other for a long time, I know I’ve never felt this way towards anyone else before. Towards you I...I look up to you, I respect you, and if I was ever born again in a different life, I’d wanna meet you again.” Naruto looked at Sasuke, and it was like he was staring straight into his soul, where Sasuke was barren, exposed, and vulnerable. Sasuke could only stare back, breath catching in his throat.

Naruto squeezed his hand. “Love you, Sas.”

There it was again—the “L” word, the word that Sasuke had always believed to be a glorified term for “like”, and thought it would never make its way into his vernacular. But Naruto was everything Sasuke was not, and was able to articulate how he felt, and was able to express himself in words Sasuke was too afraid to use himself.

Yet, when Naruto said he loved him, Sasuke felt courage in his blood because they were two halves of the same whole, and if Naruto could confidently say those three words, then Sasuke could too. Because it was true. He had fallen in love with a country boy who was stupidly good at soccer but bad at math, he had fallen in love with someone who would stand up for him, he had fallen in love with someone who made up for his shortcomings and encouraged him to be a better person. He had fallen in love over the course of his junior year of high school, through classes, detentions, misunderstandings, lunch breaks, and winning a soccer championship trophy. Through it all, Sasuke had fallen in love with Naruto—his dorm room neighbor, soccer and track teammate, and best friend.

“Love you too,” he said, and there wasn’t an ounce of hesitation behind it. The words flowed smoothly out of Sasuke’s mouth like water from a stream. “I love you for the same reasons you’ve mentioned about me, and more. And I wish I could find the proper way to convey those other reasons to you right now, but I’ll have to think about it and get back to you later.”

Naruto released Sasuke’s hand and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Sasuke could tell his boyfriend was emotional from the way his arms were shaking. “Love you,” Naruto mumbled. “Love you so much. Feels really good to finally be able to say it.”

Sasuke laughed into his ear and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Get a room,” Kiba called.

Naruto answered Kiba’s comment by flicking him off and dipping Sasuke low to the ground. He pressed another kiss to his lips.

Sasuke had never felt so fucking wooed in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more guys. One more.


	10. The Birthday Suit Makes the Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. Thanks to everyone who has commented, kudos'ed, subscribed, clicked on this fic to take a chance on it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

After their final exams the remaining week of school at Konoha Preparatory was affectionately dubbed “tomfoolery week.” The students, finally relieved of their scholarly duties, spent their time goofing off with their classmates and enjoying the summer weather. At this point in the school year, the teachers had no fucks left to give and made every class a study hall. This of course, was just an excuse for the lazy teachers (like Coach Kakashi) to leave them to their own devices, and for the more exuberant teachers (like Coach Gai) to get away with more...personal accomplishments.

Gym class had ended after a rousing game of dodgeball, where Coach Gai had surprisingly defeated their entire class (Naruto’s arm still hurt—Coach Gai was strong as hell), and Naruto was only too happy to change out of his gym uniform and back into his white button-up and slacks. He may or may not have snuck a couple of looks at his boyfriend’s butt while doing so. Then, Sasuke and Naruto were throwing their bags over their shoulders and racing to see who could get to the soccer field first. The area was beautifully green, having recovered from the winter months, and blissfully empty. Sasuke sent out a brief text message to the soccer group chat, and they gathered up their previous team members for an old-fashioned scrimmage to celebrate the end of the school year. Coach Kakashi and Gai were dragged in as the referees.

Coach Kakashi looked like he couldn’t care less, but from the way he was tapping his foot against the grass Naruto could tell he was happy.

“Okay team,” said Sasuke, still the undisputed leader, “Time to draw lots.”

Over the course of their time together on the team, Sasuke and Naruto had played with and against each other during their scrimmages. Near the end of fall semester they had been separated more often than not, just to give themselves the challenge and to even out the teams. Now however, as Naruto reached into the plastic cup, he dearly hoped to be paired up with Sasuke again. The popsicle stick he pulled out was white. He glanced at the one in Sasuke’s hand.

“What color did you get?” he asked.

His boyfriend raised his eyebrows. “Secret.”

Once all the popsicle sticks were picked up, Sasuke revealed his. It was white. Naruto hooted.

The teams were split pretty evenly—Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru on the white team, and Lee, Kiba, Neji on the red team. They didn’t bother with their soccer jerseys, and just unbuttoned their dress shirts and cuffed up their uniform pants. The red and white headbands, now considerably worse for the wear, were tied around their middles. When Sasuke reached into his bag for his signature hair clips Naruto grabbed his hand to stop him.

Sasuke looked at him. “What?”

Naruto went into his own bag and placed a set of new clips in Sasuke’s hands.

“The purple looks good,” Naruto said, “But I think these would look better.”

Sasuke stared at the silver hair pins in his palm. “Wow,” he finally said, “Thank you. But you’ve really gotta stop getting me things that you know I’ll like. It’s too spot on.” He quickly pinned back his bangs, and the new clips glittered in the afternoon sun. Naruto’s heart skipped a beat. He looked like a prince. Naruto’s knight in shining armor.

“They look great,” said Naruto.

“Of course they do, you got them for me,” said Sasuke, pinching him in the shoulder. “Now stop making me praise you and change out of your dress shoes—we’ve got a game to play.”

Coach Kakashi flipped a coin. Kiba, who was on the opposing red team, started with the ball.

“Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just because we haven’t played together in a while,” he said to Naruto.

“If ya did, you’d be a coward. Get to it, Kiba,” Naruto replied.

The scrimmage match reminded Naruto again of how much he loved the sport. He raced across the field, lungs taking in the summer atmosphere, the smell of freshly cut grass against his nose. The white and black ball rolled on the ground and flew through the air, bumping on heads and against feet. And there, like a mirror reflecting him, was Sasuke on the other side. Naruto’s chest ached when he saw him. He had forgotten how Sasuke looked when he was in the throes of competition. His eyes were wild and his smile predatory. It was hot as hell.

Naruto thought back to his first week at Konoha Preparatory, when he had been so excited to try out for the team because he had never played with others before. His only concept of a team dynamic was the soccer games he had watched on his pa’s old television. But then, he had gotten to experience the real deal—even won a championship, and now, as he played what was likely to be the last scrimmage match of the summer, he felt a warm love spreading from the center of his chest, outwards through his limbs and into his fingertips. He loved the sport. He loved his team. He loved Sasuke. He never wanted this time to end.

Suddenly, he was up against Lee—Lee was trying to pass to Kiba, but Naruto was in his way. They scuffled—Naruto’s leg shot in between Lee’s as they fought for control of the ball. Fighting against Lee was always difficult since the kid kicked like a monster. The ball smacked against Naruto’s shin more than a few times, but finally he was able to flick his feet up like he had seen the Yellow Flash do so many years ago—rolling the ball underneath the bottom of his cleats, then against his chest (the dirt stain would hopefully come out), and the ball was in his possession.

He ran past Lee and skirted around the other members of the red team. He looked for an opening to score, but their attention was on him and three players began closing in. Naruto’s eyes darted, looking for Sasuke, and for the brief moment he didn’t see him, he thought the worst of it. Their first match against Suna replayed in his mind—seeing Lee, on the ground holding his leg—and worry stirred in his gut like a black beast. He slowed down.

The opposing team took advantage of his hesitation and surrounded him.

“Sorry Naruto,” one of them said, and by the time Naruto realized that there were far more people in his way than he anticipated, it was too late.

The red team stole the ball back.

“The hell are you doing?” yelled Sasuke from across the field.

Good, Sasuke was fine—bad, Naruto looked like an idiot. Sasuke would kill him if Naruto told him he had gotten distracted because he was worried—logically, he knew Sasuke could handle himself, but his mind had involuntarily jumped to the worst conclusion. Naruto shook his head and slapped his cheeks. “Sorry,” he called back, “Was thinking about something.”

“The only thing you should be thinking about is how we’re going to kick their asses,” said Sasuke, “Don’t think about anything else. I’ll get the ball back.”

True to his word, Sasuke executed an impressive play. He sprinted forwards, instantly catching up to the red team player who had possession of the ball. His feet were light and powerful as he stuck a sly cleat out, barely tapping the soccer ball, but the force was enough to move the it out of the other player’s range. And then, with a twist of his foot, Sasuke had stolen it back. It was like he had been holding back and not taking the game too seriously, but with Naruto’s mess up, he finally had the chance to show off again. He looked pleased with himself. With a well-aimed kick, Sasuke passed the ball to Naruto. Now, given a second chance, Naruto tried once again to make a play.

This time, his other teammates were keeping the red team players occupied so the path was clear. Neji however, was waiting at the goalie box, looking as formidable as a boulder despite his relaxed pose. He gave Naruto a small smile, like he was taunting him, wanting Naruto to underestimate him. But Naruto knew how good of a goalie Neji was. He had played with Neji at his back many a time, and Neji had covered their asses over and over again, drawing out the matches so they could have a fighting chance. Underestimating him was the last thing on Naruto’s mind.

Naruto swung his leg back and kicked. He put as much force and spin as he could on the ball. He hoped it was enough to power through Neji’s reflexes.

Neji jumped to the side, already anticipating Naruto’s goal shot. Even with the spin on it, Neji’s assessment was scarily accurate—but the ball had flown just a tad faster than expected, and Neji’s fingertips _barely_ brushed it. It wasn’t enough to deflect its trajectory. The ball hit the inside of the goal net.

“And the crowd goes wild!” Naruto cheered, running a victory lap.

Sasuke shot him an amused look. “Singing your own praises, I see.”

“Yeah, because someone ain’t singin’ them for me,” Naruto retorted. “Let me have this, you debbie downer.”

“Okay," Sasuke admitted, "It was a good kick. Keep them coming.”

Naruto felt his insides flutter at the praise.

He was so fucking whipped.

He and Sasuke tore up the field. It was fun. It was exhilarating. It was just like he remembered. He loved playing with Sasuke, he loved watching Sasuke, he loved being with Sasuke no matter what they were doing. The way Sasuke moved and ran and executed his shots was just so appealing. Naruto couldn’t keep his eyes off him. The fact that the silver clips Naruto had bought for him was like a stamp of possession under the summer sun didn’t help.

His boyfriend was hot.

By the time they finished, the white team was up two points, and everyone was exhausted. Sasuke’s face was glowing red from heat and exertion. He pulled off his shirt so he could cool off, and Naruto’s eyes were blessed with the sight of Sasuke in a white tank top, sweat sliding down his neck. Then, Kiba started squirting people with his water bottle—Sasuke became his first victim—and the remaining time devolved into them play-fighting and splashing their drinks on one another. Even Shikamaru, despite his best efforts, was dragged into it. Everyone laughed. It was a good time. Naruto’s wet shirt cooled his skin.

And Sasuke? Well.

There was something about Sasuke after a rousing game of soccer. Maybe it was the way his pristine looks fell apart into something messier and more casual. Maybe it was the way his smiles came naturally. Maybe it was the way he stole glances at Naruto, like he was thinking the same thing he was.

Maybe it was the water dripping down his shirt, making the fabric translucent, giving Naruto a very good view of his pectoral muscles (which were nice) and nipples (which were _very_ nice).

Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s elbow and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Hey—let’s go back to the dorms.”

Sasuke’s eyes went dark. “Sure.”

They picked up their bags. Naruto yelled something he hoped was a good excuse as to why they were leaving early, and then they ran off. They were practically throwing their things to the ground the moment they stepped into Naruto’s dorm room.

Sasuke pounced first. 

His mouth was on Naruto’s, urgent and hot. Naruto hummed low in the back of his throat—there was a slight metallic scent on Sasuke’s skin from his sweat. That, mixed with the cologne Sasuke sprayed on that morning, made Naruto want to lick at his throat all over.

Their make out sessions were always passionate. Naruto wasn’t complaining. He was a passionate individual, and if Sasuke would match that intensity, well, then it was a win-win for him. There was something competitive about they way they kissed, about they way they did everything, like how Sasuke would always keep him on his toes and try to deny him the upper hand. Naruto loved it. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Sasuke slid his tongue against his mouth. Naruto in turn, ran his along the corners of Sasuke’s teeth. His canines were pointy. It was a little dangerous. Naruto liked it.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s face and pulled him closer.

They moved in tandem. Sasuke stripped Naruto’s shirt off him, Naruto pulled Sasuke’s tank top over his head. The clothes were mercilessly tossed to random corners of the room. They were grabbing at eachother like they hadn’t touched in ages. Sasuke’s muscles twitched whenever Naruto’s fingernails scratched at them. Naruto’s dick stirred in his pants whenever Sasuke would grab a buttcheek—there was a smirk on Sasuke’s face like he knew exactly where his hands were, and was having fun with it. Naruto wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug expression off and make his boyfriend a writhing mess underneath him as he nipped and bit over his pale skin.

But he wouldn’t go any further if Sasuke didn’t initiate. Thankfully, they were on the same wavelength—Sasuke whispered breathlessly against Naruto’s lips. “Let’s do it, yeah?”

Fuck. Yes. Finally.

Naruto unbuckled their pants and shoved them off. They were both clad in only their boxers now—it was the farthest they’d ever gone, the least amount of clothing they’d ever had between them. Naruto could see Sasuke’s erection tenting in his underwear. There was a wet patch seeping through the fabric on the front. Naruto wasn’t sure his was much better. He glued their mouths together again, feeling Sasuke up as much as he could, and slowly maneuvered them both to his bed.

Naruto pushed Sasuke down, breaking their kiss briefly before Sasuke sat up to bite at Naruto’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” Naruto said. “Fuck—Sasuke—”

Naruto had never been attracted to a guy before Sasuke. He didn’t really know what it was like to touch a dick other than his own. But when he looked at Sasuke, clinging to him with the same red-tipped ears that he was so used to, dark hair still pinned back with silver clips, body and abs all tone and lithe muscle, Naruto couldn't see how he could have been attracted to anyone else. Sasuke was devastatingly attractive—sexy, dark, seductive—and all without knowing it. Or at least, pretending not to.

Sasuke pressed his hips up. Their dicks slid together through their underwear. Naruto swore again. Sasuke licked the shell of his ear, then his cheek. It was ticklish and extremely arousing.

Naruto paused, just trying to get his bearings, because it was all too much—it was ridiculous, how Sasuke could make his mind blank, how he could just wipe his thoughts with a simple sigh, with a drag of his teeth. For someone who had never had sex before, Sasuke knew how to push all of his buttons.

“Ha,” Sasuke said, breath hot against Naruto’s face, grinning smugly again, “All talk and no action, I knew it. Are you a pussy, Naruto? Afraid you can’t handle m—”

Naruto’s next action cut off what Sasuke was about to say, because he had shoved his hand down Sasuke’s boxers and grabbed his dick. Sasuke let out a garbled choking sound.

If Naruto hadn’t been so determined to prove him wrong, he would have likely made a similar noise. Sasuke’s dick was hot in his hand. Holding someone else’s penis felt a little unusual, but not in a bad way. It was just different. Naruto spit into his palm, then stroked his hand up and down in the same way he did when he jerked off. The saliva made the glide easier. Sasuke seemed to like it—he had stopped talking after all, and now the only sounds permeating the room was the heavy panting between the two of them.

“Is this okay?” Naruto asked, twisting his wrist slightly. Sasuke hissed.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine—Jesus, do you always talk so much?”

“I mean, this _is_ your first time, I—”

Sasuke swore. “I forgot I told you that.”

“I’m your _boyfriend_ , Sasuke—gotta make sure I take care of you, yanno?” Naruto kissed his temple.

Sasuke scowled underneath him, face flushed. He took Naruto’s other hand and nibbled at his fingers—fuck—Naruto didn’t know where Sasuke had picked up _that_ particular skillset, but he wasn’t complaining—it was hot as hell. The way his tongue traced on his digits, sucking on them like he wanted to be sucking on something else entirely—something thicker and longer—had Naruto’s mind spinning with possibilities. He thought back to his wet dream, where Sasuke’s head had been in between his thighs, and that pink tongue currently doing unspeakable things to his fingers had been doing those same unspeakable things to Naruto’s dick. And that experience had made him cream his underwear like some filthy preteen boy who was masturbating for the first time.

Naruto had to stop thinking about that vision or else he would finish before Sasuke. And that was the one thing he had sworn he wouldn’t do, not just because he had a reputation to uphold, but because Sasuke would _for sure_ hold it over his head for a very, very long time.

And speaking of his boyfriend, Sasuke was splayed beneath him more beautifully than he could have ever thought up in his dreams, like a work of art, or something. Yeah, that sounded right—a priceless, expensive, work of art. Like one of those oil paintings in the art museum they went to visit one time for a field trip—dark eyes and dark hair contrasting against white, white skin—like an angel or a devil. Too beautiful to be real—a being so perfect, he could only be brought into the world by a god’s imagination. And Naruto was the one who made him like that—naked in a bed that wasn’t his, lips red from kissing, cheeks pink from the sun and from embarrassment. There was a small bite mark on his chest from the last week they had been intimate with each other. It still hadn’t faded. Naruto traced the mark with his finger. Sasuke shuddered against his touch, eyes fluttering shut, the suckling on his fingers growing increasingly insistent.

When Sasuke’s mouth became too needy and Naruto couldn’t take it anymore, he slowly took his fingers away, pulled Sasuke up so they were sitting on the bed, face to face, and slid his fingers down, past Sasuke’s boxers, against the cleft of his ass. Naruto gently circled two fingers around the rim of Sasuke’s asshole. He pressed lightly against the opening. Sasuke’s hands grabbed Naruto’s shoulders tighter.

“We won’t go there today,” said Naruto, “Because I hear you gotta work up to it, and it hurts if you don’t do it correctly. But I wanna touch you there today with my fingers. And I wanna work up to the time where I can go inside with my dick. Yeah?”

“Fuck—yes. Okay. Fine,” said Sasuke.

It was all the confirmation Naruto needed—he wanted Sasuke, had wanted him more and more since his first wet dream of him, and now it was finally coming true. Sasuke also wanted him from the way he fondled Naruto through his boxers and squeezed his ass with his hands. Naruto licked his lips and flipped their positions so Sasuke was on top of him—he hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to finger Sasuke’s asshole, and the new position made it easier. It was also a prime position to feel Sasuke’s erection grinding and pressing against him.

“Can you grab the lube in the drawer?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you have lube?”

“Picked some up the weekend we started dating.”

Naruto had been remarkably embarrassed strolling up to the drugstore counter with that and a box of condoms, even though he had made his fair share of such purchases in the past. But it was his first time doing it with Sasuke...doing anything with him, really, so he had wanted to be as prepared as possible when the situation presented itself.

And boy, had he been _waiting_ for it to present itself.

“I see. Seems like you had one thing on your mind,” said Sasuke.

“You’re hot and I’m pretty horny in general, so what did you expect?” said Naruto.

“Too much, apparently,” Sasuke replied, but he reached into the drawer and pulled out the bottle anyways. He tossed it to Naruto who uncapped it and pulled both their boxers off so he could grab a fist full of Sasuke’s ass. He squeezed a liberal amount of lube his fingers.

Sasuke, in a shockingly bold maneuver, repaid the favor by grabbing both their dicks and fisting them together. Naruto swore. It was fast, it was rough, and a little crude—but it was perfect. It was so, so incredibly perfect. It was perfect because Sasuke’s hand was wrapped around Naruto’s cock and he was touching him and the pads of his fingers were everywhere—Naruto’s body was in sensory overload.

“Where the _fuck_ did you learn how to do that?” Naruto gasped. Shit—it was the best hand job he had ever gotten, by far—ever, in the history of mankind, holy shit—

“Porn,” Sasuke said simply, and then he spit in his hand just as Naruto had—and if Naruto wasn’t already turned on to the max, he would have been from the sight of a thin line of saliva dripping down from Sasuke’s lip.

As Sasuke increased the pace, all but straddling Naruto’s hips with his head bent into his shoulder, Naruto slid a finger inside Sasuke’s ass. It was tight and _very_ hot. The lube made an obscene sound. Naruto wondered what it would look like leaking out of Sasuke’s asshole. He stopped himself before he got too far, because he didn’t need any more brain short circuiting.

Sasuke grunted. “Feels weird.”

“I mean, I do have a finger in your butt,” said Naruto.

“I did not need the explicit details, I am _literally_ the one on the receiving end,” Sasuke retorted, voice slowly turning into a groan as Naruto pressed deeper. “Shit. Feels so _weird_.”

Despite how weird Sasuke claimed it felt, Naruto was sure his boyfriend was getting keyed up. Although he was still fisting both of their cocks together, his hands were losing their steady rhythm, growing more erratic as Sasuke panted into Naruto’s collarbone.

“Shit...shit—!” Sasuke muttered.

“Do ya want me to help you?” asked Naruto.

“Help me? Help me with what, exactly?”

Naruto wriggled his finger a little bit deeper, and Sasuke all but moaned into his ear, low and soft and in a way that made Naruto want to wreck him even further.

“So? Do ya want me to help you?” Naruto repeated breathlessly. He really hoped Sasuke would say yes, because he was up for a little more teasing before he gave Sasuke what both of them wanted.

“Fuck—yes, I want you to help me, don’t make me say it,” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto’s insides exploded into a shower of liquid-sparks. He didn’t want to push his luck, but the temptation to say his next words was all too great. The higher the risk, the higher the reward—and if all went according to plan, Naruto would have a very nice memory to jerk off to in the summer months.

“Then beg for it,” he said.

Sasuke was still grinding incessantly on Naruto’s finger. Naruto tried to disassociate himself from the idea that Sasuke was essentially fucking himself on his hand, because if he lingered too long on the thought, he wouldn’t be able to hold out if Sasuke refused to beg. And Naruto wanted him to.

Desperately.

“What?” Sasuke asked, nipping at Naruto’s throat. “You want me to beg? Don’t get full of yourself.”

“I would say you’re the one full of me right now,” said Naruto, sliding his finger in and out again for emphasis. Sasuke swore and said something that sounded suspiciously like “fuck you, Naruto.”

Naruto tried again. “Won’t you beg for me Sasuke? Please?”

“You’re begging me, to beg for you,” his boyfriend panted. “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

“I just want to hear ya say it.”

“I’m not going to say it.”

Naruto squeezed Sasuke’s ass and slowly removed his finger, gently tracing his puckered entrance. It was wet from Sasuke’s spit and lube—which was so _fucking hot._ Naruto teased the hole with his thumb, pressing lightly, but not moving any further. He held Sasuke’s hips still so he couldn’t lean into his touch. He hoped that would be enough teasing, that Sasuke would want to be filled and would give in to Naruto’s request, but Sasuke was still fucking his cock into his own hand, and very pleasurably at that, and Naruto couldn’t have that happening while Sasuke was supposed to be begging him, so he took his hand away from Sasuke’s asshole and used it to firmly grip his wrist instead. Sasuke, now forced to stop, fought against him...

But Naruto was stronger. He pinned both of Sasuke’s arms behind his back and so Sasuke had no limbs to support himself with, and therefore no choice but to fall on top of Naruto’s chest. Naruto ran his remaining free hand back to Sasuke’s ass, then to the front where he rubbed the length of Sasuke’s dick, slowly and leisurely like he had all the time in the world. Sasuke wrestled against his hold. He was now being denied pleasure on two fronts. Naruto couldn’t see his boyfriend’s expression, but he knew he was bound to be irritated.

“So, what about now, Sasuke?” Naruto asked again.

“No.”

Ah, he liked a challenge. There was something about Sasuke’s difficulty which made it _so_ much sweeter when he would eventually cave in. Over the past several months, Naruto had become an expert at breaking down Sasuke’s inhibitions—this was but another small hurdle for him to overcome.

He took the lube again from the nightstand and squeezed some into Sasuke’s dick. Sasuke hissed, probably because it was cold, but Naruto could remedy that quite quickly.

He began aggressively pumping Sasuke up and down, squeezing it _just_ tight enough to be on the rougher side, and sure enough, the lube slicked against his fingers and grew warm. Naruto relished in the way Sasuke squirmed on top of him, unable to break free from his grasp. Naruto kept the pace up and ran his fingers along the head of Sasuke’s cock, making sure to spread the beading precum along the entire length. The breaks in between Sasuke’s breaths grew shorter and shorter as he rocked his hips against Naruto’s. From the sounds he was making, he was getting close.

So Naruto stopped.

Sasuke shot him a biting glare. His breaths were haggard. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”

“Oh? It’s not?” Naruto asked innocently, casually spanking one of Sasuke’s asscheeks.

“No, it’s not.”

“Hm, interesting. Guess I’ll have to try harder then.”

Naruto continued to tease, bringing Sasuke close enough to the edge before halting his ministrations, over and over and over again. His boyfriend held on longer than he expected, but Naruto could be a very patient man when he set his mind to it, and it just so happened that this situation was one of the few times when he did. And in this case, Naruto’s need to hear Sasuke beg far outweighed Sasuke’s need to come. Sasuke’s dick was red and dripping with a mix of precum and Naruto’s saliva. His entire body was flushed pink and was covered in a light sheen of sweat, his silver hair clips barely holding his bangs back. He looked absolutely ravished. Finally, as Naruto gave the curve of his neck a long, sultry lick and tightened his grip on Sasuke’s cock for the umpteenth time, Sasuke hissed, “Stop teasing me and just get on with it.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Naruto responded, picking up the pace of his handjob. “Ya gotta say it in a way that I’ll understand, Sasuke.”

Sasuke jerked forward, the touch on his body overwhelming him. “I—fuck—”

“You’re getting warmer…” Naruto said encouragingly.

“Just—fucking do it, Naruto!”

Naruto curled his hand upwards. “Try again.”

Sasuke screwed his eyes shut, like he was resigning himself to the fact that he had lost this particular battle, and leaned forward to push his sweaty forehead against Naruto’s. Time slowed to a crawl as their eyes met—Sasuke’s dark, and Naruto’s blue and eager—and Naruto watched, fascinated, as Sasuke’s tongue deliberately dipped out from behind his lips to wet them.

Naruto stopped stroking him. He waited in anticipation for the words which would allow him to give into his desires. And then, he saw the exact moment when Sasuke gave up, when the lust overcame his pride, when his resolve crumbled, and Sasuke said in a low, sexy voice that sent shivers throughout Naruto’s body like a lightning strike: “Please touch me. Please let me touch you. Please let me come, please, Naruto I’m begging you, please please—”

“Good boy,” Naruto said, and he released Sasuke’s arms, and Sasuke immediately jumped on him like an animal out of its cage, smashing their mouths together and kissing the ever living daylights out of him. Naruto found himself slipping his finger inside Sasuke again, and then he was stroking Sasuke’s dick and Sasuke was stroking his, and Naruto didn’t know if there was anything in the world better than he was currently experiencing—sex with Sasuke was greater than he could have imagined, it was perfection—Sasuke groaned and whined, needy and desperate against his mouth as they kissed, their tongues sliding wetly in their mouths. When he looked at Sasuke, Naruto swore his eyes were darker than the night sky—it was like the entire universe was inside them. He was beautiful—and the more Naruto thought about it, whether Sasuke was more of an angel or a devil, the more he leaned towards angel—because Sasuke was untouchable. He was someone that had to be made by some higher power, for Naruto, because Naruto literally could not imagine living his life with anyone else.

It was dumb. They were young, and stupid, and couldn’t even legally drink, but Naruto didn’t feel like he would find a love like this anywhere else in his life. Sasuke was it. Sasuke was the one. If something cheesy like “soulmates” ever existed in their world, Naruto was sure that they were the picture-perfect definition of it because he and Sasuke were one and the same.

“You’re doing that thing where you’re thinking again,” Sasuke said, leaning back to look at Naruto. His sweat plastered his hair to his forehead. “You okay? We can stop.”

His boyfriend always talked about how Naruto knew him so well, but Sasuke didn’t know how well he knew Naruto too. Naruto grinned. “Nah, if we stop now, I might die. Was just thinking about how much I love ya, is all.”

“You’re such a fucking idiot sometimes—fuck—”

Naruto fingered Sasuke’s ass with each thrust, committing every moan that spilled unbidden from Sasuke’s lips to memory. His boyfriend grinded against his hand, fucking himself on his index finger, kissing Naruto whenever he could. For most of the time however, Sasuke was bent forward, head tucked into Naruto’s neck, hot breath growing increasingly impatient. Sasuke continued thrusting into his hand while gripping Naruto’s dick harder and faster, and then Sasuke clamped his teeth into the flesh of Naruto’s shoulder with a grunt.

When Sasuke came, Naruto felt the ring of muscle around his finger twitch and pulse, sucking him in further, and that, coupled with Sasuke’s tongue laving at his shoulder, and his murmured mantra of “I love you Naruto, I love you, I love you” quickly pushed him over the edge too.

* * *

That summer was the best summer of Naruto’s life. He and Sasuke were always over at each other’s houses. Sasuke and his pa got along swimmingly; Iruka always joked after Sasuke left about how Naruto managed to find a guy like _that_. Naruto didn't quite understand either. And when Naruto went over to Sasuke's place for the first time—a very chic, upscale apartment in the downtown area, he finally met Sasuke’s mysterious lawyer brother, Itachi, who always looked like he hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest in ages. But he was kind, teased Sasuke incessantly which was _hilarious_ , and made a mean caprese salad. They hung out with the rest of their friends too—for ice cream dates, to swim in Shikamaru’s pool, to volunteer at the local animal shelter (Kiba’s request). They picked up some new friends as well—Hinata, Sakura, and Ino would join in on their gatherings when they had time.

Naruto was still sometimes the odd one out—he still wasn’t used to the norms of high society, so Kiba made due on his promise and gave him basic etiquette lessons. It devolved into them drawing mustaches on the tables, so Shikamaru had to take over. With Shikamaru driving the process, learning became much more effective. The spartan training worked, and by the end of it, Naruto finally could remember which fancy spoon went on the left and which was the appropriate glass to drink from.

Ino and Sakura taught him a proper ballroom dance so he wouldn’t step on his boyfriend’s toes, and could do something other than a square dance at parties.

Hinata gave him a short lesson on flower arranging at her and Neji’s mansion, and when Naruto presented his arrangement to Sasuke, he knew he had done a good job because Sasuke wordlessly took it and put it in a vase. Even as the flowers dried, they stayed in his room.

Naruto and Neji went to the spa together for some self care. “The body and mind are equally as important to take care of,” Neji had said wisely during their massage. “Don’t forget it, Naruto.” Naruto didn’t think he could ever forget it—the massage he had gotten was _godly_.

During their impromptu beach trip, Naruto got even tanner, and Sasuke got a sunburn. Lee smashed a watermelon with his bare hands while blindfolded. That action, in and of itself, reminded Naruto so much of Coach Gai that he briefly wondered if they were related. Kiba assured him that they were not, but their eyebrows were so uncannily thick and their smiles so similar that Naruto had his suspicions.

And Naruto and Sasuke? It was like their honeymoon period was never ending. Naruto still got butterflies in his stomach whenever they kissed. His eyes still trailed after Sasuke wherever he went. And Sasuke, every day without fail, would wear the clips Naruto bought for him. They still bickered of course—Sasuke always had a quip ready for Naruto’s obsession with frog themed memorabilia, and Naruto never failed to call Sasuke out for being a jerk. But their dynamic was very much “them”, and they both knew that no matter what they said to one another, at the end of the day they’d beat the shit out of anyone who dared to make fun of either of them. Naruto was happiest when he was with Sasuke, and it was clear as day to everyone else that the same applied to Sasuke, even though he would never admit it.

Naruto didn’t know a piece of him had been missing before Sasuke entered his life, but now that he had him, he felt whole.

Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke and Naruto. Always together, and never one without the other.

And in the following months, when the warm autumn air signaled the start of new school year at Konoha Preparatory, tryouts began anew. And, for the first time in school history, the soccer team had two co-captains.

* * *

_“He is my most beloved friend and my bitterest rival, my confidant and my betrayer, my sustainer and my dependent, and scariest of all, my equal.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to hype myself for the sex scene, so I listened to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEJLuJyxLDE&ab_channel=dojacatVEVO) by Doja Cat lmao. CONSENT IS SEXY YA’LL!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this last chapter! It was so nice to get back into writing fanfiction after a long time away, and everyone was so supportive it made posting this fic that much easier. I'm working on fixing up a oneshot to post during the holidays, so I hope to see you guys soon. Thanks for a wonderful end to a wonderful journey. <3


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